Becoming Mrs Weasley
by wonderstruck13
Summary: It's five years after the war and Hermione and Ron are finally ready to get married, but issues from their past come back to haunt them. This is the tale of Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Ginny growing up after the War through Hermione's POV. A lot of fluff, some humor, and some romance.
1. Chapter 1

****Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. This is just my attempt to imagine what happened next.

**Chapter 1**

I, Hermione Granger, am in love with Ron Weasley. I'm pretty sure he's in love with me, too. What other reason would a twenty three year old human male have for following a loon like me around Flourish and Blotts on a Saturday afternoon? None. Well unless he has a fetish with frizzy brown hair. Actually, I think Ron has one of those…

"Mione!" Ron squeaks underneath the pile of books he is holding for me just as they begin to fall to the ground. Luckily this is not a rare occurrence since I have a bad habit of using him as my book pack mule when he agrees to come shopping with me, so I am able to catch the top few before they topple over. I take the books from my boyfriend of five years and apologize for my ignorance to his condition.

"Oh Ron, I'm sorry. I really need to stop doing that."

I shyly take a few more of the books and head for the cash register to pay. I've made Ron suffer enough for one day. "Today must have been such a bore for you. I promise to make it up to you later."

"No worries, Love. I like it when you make it up to me later. Makes the afternoon of book shopping worth it."

"Ronald!" I slap him on the arm with one hand as I hand over a few galleons and some sickles with the other. "We're in public no on needs to know about…"

"I was talking about your pumpkin cupcakes, Hermione. Get your mind out of the gutter."

I feel my cheeks redden as he chuckles at my embarrassment. The clerk hands over two large shopping bags of which I take one and Ron the other. He puts his arm around my shoulders and kisses the top of my head to let me know he is sorry as we walk out of my favorite store and onto Diagon Alley.

"We're supposed to meet Harry and Ginny at the Leaky Cauldron in five minutes," I say upon seeing the large clock above Gringotts.

"I know. Is there anywhere else you wanted to go? You've been so busy at work; I know you haven't been able to do much shopping."

He really is so sweet.

"It's just the house-elf rights law I've been trying to pass. There is a lot more opposition to it than I ever imagined. I mean, I know people like having their servants but don't they want to allow them one weekend off each month?"

"Don't think that's most wizards' priority."

Ron trails off as we pass the jeweler beside Ollivander's and he catches me peeking at the display of engagement rings in the window. I quickly look away when I realize he is watching me. I don't want him to think I'm dying to get married or anything. But the thing is, I kind of am dying to get married. I have never wanted anything more in my life than to be married to Ron Weasley. I let out a small sigh at the thought of spending the rest of my life with the man whose arm is still around my shoulders. Out of the corner of my eye I see him crack a smile, so I turn to look up at him.

"What are you smiling at?"

"Just picturing what it would be like to be married to you."

I choke for air a bit at this. "You, Ronald Bilius Weasley, were imagining married life? You, who fears commitment as if it is Voldemort's second coming. You, who was too shy to make a move so I had to be the one to kiss you in the middle of a battle. Oh Merlin, I must be dreaming. Somebody pinch me."

"Oh come on, Hermione. I don't fear commitment, not when it's to you anyways. And I was just being a gentleman with the kissing thing. You know, ladies first and all."

"Of course you were."

"Well, don't you think about it? Getting married?"

"Of course I do."

"So why don't we get married?"

"Ron Weasley, are you proposing to me? Because this is an extremely unsatisfactory proposal! You need to get down on one knee for starters. And have a ring. Not to mention my father would be livid if you didn't ask him for his blessing."

"Calm down, Mione. I'm not proposing… Yet."

He smiles and leans down to kiss me before taking my hand and walking into the Leaky Cauldron. My head is swimming with the conversation we just had. A conversation I never thought we'd have. I had always just assumed Ron and I would stay boyfriend and girlfriend forever, possibly moving in with each other after fifteen years and eventually getting a cat. I need some serious girl talk ASAP. Thank Merlin I live with Ginny and can force her to advise me after dinner before Ron comes over.

Ron pulls out my chair when we get to our table and I take a seat. He sits next to me and gets Hannah Abbott's attention.

"Hello Ron, Hermione! What can I get for you two?"

"We'll have four butterbeers please. One with a little bit of ginger," he adds looking at me with a smile.

"So Harry and Ginny are on their way, then?"

"You know us too well. Is Neville around?"

"Yes, actually. He's unpacking upstairs. He just got back from a trip to South America looking for new strains of Venomous Tentacula. I'll let him know you all are here when he's done."

"Thanks Hannah," I say. She nods and walks back to the bar to fix our drinks. The bell above the main entrance rings and I turn to see Harry and Ginny enter looking quite flustered. Ginny had Quidditch practice today, and she once confided in me that she can feel a bit frisky after a long day at the pitch. Her red face and mussed hair are a clear indication that she and Harry just had a quickie at Grimmauld Place before coming to meet us. Hopefully Ron doesn't pick up on that one.

They spot us and make their way for our table. Ron and I stand to greet them.

"Hello, Harry!" I hug him and give him a kiss on the cheek before turning to Ginny to give her a hug as Ron and Harry hug as well. I swear if they didn't have girlfriends I would think they were dating. "How was practice, Ginny?" Then I add under my breath, "Or better yet, how were your after practice shenanigans?"

She blushes even more and pinches my arm, "Not in front of my brother!"

I chuckle as I take a seat and Ron moves to greet his sister. Hannah brings over our drinks and says hello to the new additions to our group. Once she leaves, Ginny launches right into discussing wedding plans.

"I can't believe August is only a month away! We have to go for the final fitting for my dress next Saturday in Hogsmeade. We might as well do your dress then, Hermione."

I spit out my butterbeer at the mention of me and a wedding dress in the same sentence. Unfortunately, Harry is sitting across from me, so his glasses now have a nice layer of foam on them. "Oh I'm so sorry, Harry!" I send a nonverbal scourgify at his face to clean up the mess.

He and Ron are laughing uncontrollably as my face reddens.

"That's all right, Hermione," Harry says, still laughing.

"I only meant we need to do your fitting for your maid of honor dress, as well. Since your dress is coming from the same place it makes sense to do it at the same time as mine. What got your knickers in a twist?"

"Oh that would be me," Ron answers for me. Harry and Ginny's heads snap towards Ron with mouths open.

"You?" They ask in unison with equal amounts of disbelief and confusion.

"Hermione's got weddings on the brain. I mentioned getting engaged and clearly the only thing she can think about now is being married to yours truly."

"Oh Ronald, don't get too full of yourself," I say slapping his arm.

"That's the second time you've hit me in an hour. You're lucky I don't report you for assaulting an Auror."

Ginny and I roll our eyes. Ron loves to use his title against us. Thankfully Harry hardly ever points out his rank.

"You really brought up the topic of marriage, Ron? I'm impressed. Mum will be so pleased that ickle Ronniekins is going to tie the knot."

Fortunately, Ron doesn't have a chance to let his anger get the best of him in response to his sister's teasing since Neville approaches our table before he can open his mouth.

"Hello! How are you all?"

"We're great, Neville," Harry responds for us. "Would you like to join us for some dinner?"

"That'd be great, thanks!"

We spend our meal catching up, discussing Harry and Ginny's wedding, and reminiscing about our days at Hogwarts.

"Too bad Luna wasn't here. We would've had us a right reunion!" Ginny points out.

"She's still looking for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks in Africa with Rolf," Neville states.

"As long as she's back in time for the wedding. I am already being too nice by letting her miss the dress fitting for her bridesmaid's dress."

"For a self-proclaimed tomboy you can be quite the bridezilla, Gin," Ron teases insensitively.

I smack him on the back of the head. "Ronald! Think before you speak! Ginny, put your wand away. Do you really want to have the best man at your wedding walking around with scars from whatever curse you're planning on using on him?"

Ginny grumbles and pockets her wand.

"Well this was lovely, but I should get going," Harry says. "I have to leave early tomorrow morning for a mission."

Ginny pouts at this. She hates when Harry has to go on secret Auror missions for days at a time. He stands, gives Ginny a kiss, and tells her he'll see her in an hour when she'll be going to Grimmauld Place for the night. Ron thinks she will be staying in a separate room. Lying to him is the only way they can get some alone time. However, I'm 99% sure he doesn't really believe this, but I know he'd like to think his best mate isn't ravaging his little sister almost daily.

I stand to say goodbye to Ron for the time being. He pulls me into a hug and kisses me. Then he says, "I'll see you in an hour," as he pulls away. My head spins a little bit as he lets me go and disapparates.

"Oh come on then," Ginny rolls her eyes at me and grabs my arm to disapparate us back to our flat.

* * *

A/N: Thanks so much for reading! Please let me know what you think since this is my first story. I have a few chapters done, but I'm a student so I don't have much time to write (in other words, expect unpredictable updates).


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. This is just my attempt to imagine what happened next.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"So my brother is going to propose," Ginny rearticulates the only thing I've been able to think about since before dinner.

"I really can't believe it," I respond. I toss Ginny a t-shirt and some jeans to pack in her overnight bag as she packs her lacy purple lingerie that she claims drives Harry crazy. She is much more daring than I am when it comes to those things. Ron would never catch me in something so scandalous.

"Me neither. I had always assumed he would die alone."

I throw the pillow I'm leaning against on her bed at her. "Ginny!"

"Well can you blame me? It took him six years to admit he fancied you."

"Ron is just shy. Give him a break."

"Whatever. We have more important business to attend to at the moment: your engagement ring."

"What about it?"

"You have to tell me what you want so I can help my brother pick it out like you did for me with Harry."

I begin playing with a loose thread on Ginny's quilt to distract myself. For some reason talking about engagement rings, especially when they come from Ron Weasley, makes my stomach do flip-flops. "Ginny, you know I don't care much for jewelry. I want Ron to pick out whatever he thinks I'll like."

"You're no fun, Hermione. Where's your sense of adventure?"

"I've had enough adventure for my lifetime, thank you very much. I do however need to venture into the kitchen and begin baking cupcakes as an apology for making your brother carry my books for me all day. Care to join me until you have to go meet Harry?"

"As long as I get to lick the bowl."

I roll my eyes and smile. "You can be such a five year old sometimes."

Ginny hoists herself up on the counter of our tiny kitchen while I summon the ingredients and tools for Ron's favorite pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

"You know Ron likes carrying books for you. You don't have to make him cupcakes as a thank you or whatever. Besides, if you keep feeding him, he won't fit in his dress robes at the wedding. Anyways, I'm pretty sure your sexcapades more than make up for whatever boringness he endures during the day."

I turn bright red at this. "Ginny! You do realize you are talking about your brother, don't you?"

"Eh. I can forget it's my brother you're screwing and pretend it's some nameless guy you picked up at the Hog's Head so that we can have proper girl talk time."

"You are unbelievable."

"That's what Harry says," she winks at her innuendo. "Seriously though, Hermione, Ron is head over heels for you. You could be covered in boils and the boy would still want to have sex with you."

"Well Harry is the same way about you."

"Oh I know that. Just last week I got back from Quidditch practice covered in mud and he had me undressed faster than I could say Wronski Feint. That boy has some serious stamina."

"That is definitely too much information, Ginny. Harry is practically my brother. I do not need to know about how many times in one night you guys have done it."

Ginny rolls her eyes at me and snatches the now empty mixing bowl from me as I place the cupcakes in the oven.

"Fine, Hermione. You win. How about some Would You Rather before Ron gets here?"

I nod my head in agreement and Ginny begins the game that was our favorite in seventh year when Ron and Harry didn't come back to Hogwarts and we had a lot of girl time.

"Would you rather listen to me talk about sex with Harry or listen to Hagrid talk about sex with Madam Maxime?"

I swat Ginny with an oven mitt. "Such bad images. You have a terribly dirty mind!"

"You need to answer the question!" She giggles.

"The first one I guess."

"Would you rather eat a bucket of slugs or bathe in troll bogies?"

"That is absolutely disgusting. Where do you come up with these things?"

"It's from having six brothers. Just pick one!"

"I guess bathe in troll bogies. At least you could shower afterwards. What would you pick?"

"I think I'd pick the slugs," Ginny says matter-of-factly. "I hear they aren't that bad."

"Okay, my turn," I take a moment to think of a good one as I wave my wand over the bowl in which I am mixing the frosting. "Would you rather marry a garden gnome or marry the ghoul in the attic of the Burrow?"

"Definitely the garden gnome. Those guys are frisky!" Ginny winks and we both dissolve into giggles. There is a pop outside the door and the sound of the doorknob turning.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Ron asks coming into the kitchen and seeing us still in fits of laughter.

He pulls me to his side and leans down to kiss me just as Ginny shouts, "Yuck! You guys really need to cool it on the P.D.A. And you say Harry and I are too touchy feely!" She picks up her bag and goes to leave. "I'm off to Harry's. See you in the morning!"

"You'd better not get touchy feely!" Ron shouts after his little sister as she slams the door behind her.

"Ronald, she is twenty-one years old and engaged, for Merlin's sake."

"Engaged isn't married," he proclaims matter-of-factly.

I shake my head and turn my attention back to the frosting, which is now complete, and we fall into a comfortable silence. I pull the cupcakes out of the oven and perform a cooling charm on them before I begin frosting them the muggle way.

"I love it when you cook for me," Ron says, pushing off the counter he was leaning on while he watched me bake. He walks up behind me and puts his arms around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder.

I roll my eyes even though he can't see my face since my back is to him. I retort, "You just like it because you get to eat afterwards."

"True," he chuckles. "But you get this cute, concentrated look on your face that you used to get in potions class."

His arm starts to sneak further forward into the frosting bowl. Just as his finger goes to swipe a lick off the side, I swat his hand away.

"Ron, no tasting until they're all finished!"

He laughs, "Mione, you're so uptight about your frosting. It's just one lick."

"Fine," I sigh as I finish up the last cupcake, "Just one." However, the large glob of frosting he pulls out of the bowl does not end up in his mouth but on my nose.

"Ronald!" I shriek as I turn around in his arms.

Maddeningly, he just laughs. "Oh relax, Hermione. It's just a little frosting." He leans down and licks it off my nose, and I feel a familiar blush creep up my cheeks that only he can elicit. When he speaks again, his voice is a little bit huskier: "See? All gone."

I struggle for a minute to catch my breath as I stare into his hypnotizing blue eyes. When I finally come back to reality, I am able to choke out, "The cupcakes are done."

His face comes closer to mine and I think he is about to kiss me, but he just reaches around me and grabs a cupcake off the counter and smiles. "Thanks!"

I laugh at his obvious attempt to trick me. "You can be such a tease sometimes." He just smiles back, his mouth already full of pumpkin cupcake.

"Dat'sh why you lobe be!"

"Don't get to cocky, Ronald." I'm surprised at how good I'm getting at deciphering his language when he talks with his mouth full. I turn back to the cupcakes, pick up the platter, and carry it out of the kitchen and into the sitting area. Ron follows me and sits on the couch next to me putting his arm around me and turning on the muggle television I insisted on having in our flat.

I pick up a cupcake as Ron flips through the channels until he stops on a rerun of the American program, "Friends". After a moment I recognize the episode and exclaim, "Oh, 'The One with the Prom Video'! I love this one!"

"Why?" he asks around a mouthful of his second cupcake.

"Well, Rachel and Ross have been in love with each other for quite some time but the timing was never right. In this episode she finds out that he was going to take her to prom when her date seemingly stood her up, she takes matters into her own hands and kisses him. Thus beginning one of the most epic romances in television history."

"Hmm. Sounds like two people I know," he quips.

"Oh really," I say through a smile, "Who might they be."

"Well the girl has this really great brown hair and a strange obsession with books."

"Does the boy happen to have flaming red hair and a tendency to talk with his mouth full?"

"Sounds about right."

He leans in to kiss me for real this time just as Phoebe exclaims, "See! He's her lobster!" and I smile into his lips as his hands find their way under my shirt. I tangle my fingers in his feather soft hair and pull him even deeper into the kiss. Suddenly his hands are no longer under my shirt but going towards his own waistband, a rather sudden change of pace since he usually let's me decide how far we go and when we go there. I pull away from him and look quizzically into his eyes as he pulls something out of his pocket with one hand and reaches for the remote to turn off the TV with the other.

Finally, he speaks: "Hermione, I love you."

"I love you too, Ron," I respond confusedly, trying to see what he is now holding in his right hand.

"Let me finish," he pauses to see if I am going to test him then continues, "We've known each other since we were eleven. That's over half of our lives. But I feel like I've known you forever. I know you better than I know anyone else," he holds up a finger when he sees that I'm about to interrupt, "Even better than I know Harry. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to carry around your ridiculous piles of books when we go shopping. I want to listen to you talk about muggle TV shows. I want to eat frosting off your nose. I want to have children with you some day and send them off to Hogwarts so that they can meet someone that they want to spend the rest of their lives with. I want to marry you Hermione."

I feel my heart beat erratically as he slides off the sofa and onto one knee. He opens a small black velvet box that he has been holding in his right hand. A gold band with a single small, round diamond sits in the white silk staring up at me, but I don't even look at it. Instead, I look into Ron's eyes as he asks the question I never thought I'd hear, "Hermione Granger, will you marry me?"

All of the fluttery feelings I felt earlier in the day at being engaged to Ron are gone as I look into his sparkling blue eyes. His question hangs in the air for a moment before I can muster the ability to speak. Even then, the only thing I can manage to say is, "Yes," before I reach for his face and pull him towards me in a kiss even more passionate than our first during the Battle of Hogwarts.

He begins to laugh about ten seconds into our kiss then mumbles into my lips, "Don't you want to put on the ring?"

I pull away and rest my forehead on his and repeat the only word I seem to be able to say right now, "Yes."

He picks the box up off the floor since he dropped in the heat of the moment and reopens it. He blushes and explains, "I know it's not much. I mean Harry gave Ginny a huge engagement ring. But this was all I could really afford. I could've bought you a bigger one with the money we got from the Ministry after the war, but I figured we should start saving for those kids we are going to send to Hogwarts some day."

I silence him with a kiss and say, "It's perfect," as he slides it on my left ring finger where it will stay for the rest of my life.

* * *

A/N: Thanks so much for reading! Leave me a review and let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. This is just my attempt to imagine what happened next.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

The next morning, I wake up and roll over in my bed to see that Ron has already left my bedroom. I take in my surroundings and see clothes strewn all over the floor, abandoned in a fit of passion as we quickly made our way from the couch to my bed after the proposal. I get out of bed and pull on a clean pair of underwear and Ron's Chudley Cannon's T-shirt that I stole from him after the first time I spent the night with him at Grimmauld Place. I walk out of my bedroom and make my way to the kitchen where I find Ron with a pot of tea and a large plate of toast.

"Morning, Ron," I say, kissing him on the cheek as he looks up from The Daily Prophet. He pulls me into his lap and gives me a proper kiss on the lips.

"Good morning, Mione. Did you sleep well?"

"I always sleep well when you stay the night. That is when we actually take a break to go to sleep," I blush at my boldness.

"Mmmm," he responds kissing his way from my collarbone to my earlobe. His hands begin to roam over my bare legs when he points out, "I think you forgot to put on pants."

"Yes well you're shirt is basically a dress on me since I'm about a foot shorter than you, so I thought it would do."

"Oh it does alright," he utters as his hands rise higher up my legs.

"Ronald! We can't have sex now, much less in the kitchen. Your sister will be back soon. Harry had to catch an early portkey."

"Yeah I know," he grumbles as I slide off his lap and into the chair next to him, stealing a piece of his toast and pouring myself a cup of tea.

"Anything in the Prophet this morning?" I ask in an attempt to distract him.

"Just the usual. I was looking in the classifieds for a new flat. No way am I staying at Grimmauld Place once Harry and Ginny are married."

"So you're actually going to let them live together?" I ask jokingly.

"I don't really have a choice do I?" Ron whines. "Anyways, I was trying to find somewhere that I could move in before the wedding but nothing is open before August 16. I was also hoping not to have to commit for a full year since we might be married before a year is up."

I swallow nervously at this revelation. Ron gives me the look that says he knows something is wrong. I clear my throat and explain, "It's just weird to think of us being married."

He laughs, "I know, but that was the point of getting engaged right?"

I nod my head but blanche with a sudden realization, "Did you talk to my dad about this. You know, the engagement thing? Because even though this is the twenty first century he is still very old fashioned and would definitely disapprove if you didn't ask him for my hand even though it is not up to him to…"

Suddenly his hand is over my mouth and says, "Relax, Mione. I took care of it last week. We had lunch on Monday. Besides your parents have loved me ever since I helped you track them down in Australia."

I smile and reach for his hand. "You really are perfect, Ronald." I lean in to kiss him just as the door opens and Ginny walks in.

"Oi! Again with the kissing! I think I need to start announcing my presence before I enter a room."

"That would be much appreciated," Ron grumbles. I smack his arm with my left hand and resume eating my breakfast. However, just as I go to grab another slice of toast off of Ron's plate, Ginny grabs my left wrist.

"Merlin's beard! Is this an engagement ring?" she splutters.

I blush and Ron answers for me, "Yes indeed, little sister. Alert the Daily Prophet, we are engaged!"

"Well, this is quite the surprise! Mumsy will be so proud of her ickle Ronniekins. I wish you'd told me you were doing this last night, Ron. I would've helped pick out a better ring, this thing is tiny."

Now it's Ron's turn to blush in embarrassment. Remembering what he said last night about saving his money for our future children, I defend him and say, "No knocking my fiancé or my ring, Ginny. They're both perfect."

"Oh Hermione dear, your fiancé is far from perfect. I remember when he was seven and he was trying to degnome the garden, he tripped and ended up…"

"That's enough, Ginny!" Ron finally gets his pride back and cuts her off. "Why don't you go unpack and give me and Hermione some privacy."

"As you wish, Bro. When he's gone, I expect details, roomie!" She picks up her bag from the floor and saunters off to her bedroom, leaving Ron and me alone in the kitchen.

We resume eating our breakfast and as I finish eating my share of the toast, Ron asks, "What are you doing today?"

"Well, it's Sunday, so I was planning on just doing some chores around here and then heading over to the Burrow with Ginny at four for family dinner."

"So you are going?" I nod confusedly in response to his question. Dinner at the Burrow on Sundays has been a tradition ever since the end of the war. No one is allowed to miss them, including Harry and me, unless you're out of the country. He resumes speaking, "Good. I think we should announce our engagement today before Ginny spills the beans on us and ruins our fun."

"If that's what you want to do, then that's what we'll do. They're your family," I respond easing his nerves as I lean in to kiss him.

"They'll be your family soon, too," he teases. He kisses me again and moves to stand up, pulling me with him. "Okay, I've gotta go. Loads of paperwork to fill out for work and I have to shower and change at some point before dinner."

"You could just shower here," I say as seductively as possible, hoping he'll stay the afternoon.

"Mmm, tempting," he murmurs against my lips as I begin to kiss him passionately and lead him towards my bedroom, trying to distract him. I get him through the door and onto my bed. He is pulling my shirt over my head and his hands are roaming over my chest when there is a sudden pounding on my door, startling us apart. I am just pulling the sheet around myself since I can't seem to find where my shirt has gotten to when the door flies open revealing Ginny.

"Is he gone yet?" She asks looking around the room until her eyes land on Ron who is sitting next to me with a pillow covering his lap in an attempt to conceal his excitement over what his sister just interrupted. His face is redder than his hair and I am pretty sure mine can't be far behind. Ginny looks as if she is about to burst into laughter when she realizes what she's walked in on. "Oopsies, I guess he is still here. I'll just leave you to it then," she turns to leave but I swear I here her say, "Get it girl!" as she shuts the door.

We sit in silence for a moment until I fall back on the bed and exclaim, "Well, that was embarrassing."

I feel the bed shift as Ron moves to get up. I watch him from where I lay as he picks up his discarded clothes from last night and gets dressed to leave. "I guess that was my cue to actually leave. Otherwise Ginny will have my head if she can't have her girl talk."

"She's my best friend, but sometimes I hate your sister," I grumble.

"Tell me about it," he responds, rolling his eyes. He leans down to my level to give me a lingering kiss goodbye. "I really have to go now. I'll see you at four."

He leaves my room and I listen for the front door to shut as he leaves to apparate home. The second I hear the door click, Ginny comes flying into my room and pounces on my bed. I pull the sheet tighter around myself since I haven't had time to get dressed yet.

"You guys could have finished your… business. He didn't have to hurry out," Ginny says only half apologetically.

"Well, you kind of killed the mood, Gin," I reply grumpily.

"Oh please I'm sure you had plenty of sex last night. It's not like you really needed another round. Besides, it's girl time now!" she squeals. "Let me see that pathetic excuse for a ring again."

"It is not pathetic," I blush as she takes my hand and moves it around to see how the diamond catches the light. "It's perfect," she rolls her eyes, so I continue, "Look, your brother wanted to save money so that we can have enough to support a family someday."

"Puh-lease. I know how much you three got for the Chocolate Frog card deal, there's no way he couldn't have bought you a bigger ring and still saved a sizeable chunk of money."

"Well, I like this ring. Besides, I've never been one for jewelry really, and it's even more special because Ron picked it out on his own."

"I'm sure Harry helped."

"Merlin's pants! When are we going to tell Harry? Ron wants to tell your family at dinner tonight but Harry won't be there. We can't possibly tell them without him."

"You could Floo him. He told me he would be arriving at his hotel by 10 this morning and would be there until about one in the afternoon. But relax, would you? I'm sure he already knows what Ron had planned. They probably managed to communicate every detail by now, which by the way we still haven't. So spill Miss Granger soon to be Mrs. Weasley!"

With that I launch into recounting every detail of last night, leaving out the sex parts since she doesn't need to know what her brother and I do when she is not here. When I finish, she stares at me for a moment then asks, "That's it? Well that's not very special. I mean he didn't really make some big romantic gesture. When Harry proposed to me…"

"It was perfect, Gin," I cut her off before she can launch into the story of Harry's proposal for the five thousandth time. She will tell anyone who will listen, but I'm the only one she told about the part where they somehow managed to have sex in Harry's old dorm room after he popped the question. "Besides, I don't need a big fancy proposal or ring. Just being able to marry Ron is enough."

"Ugh. You two make me sick. Now go shower and put on some clothes so you can Floo Harry."

* * *

"Ron? RONALD?" I shout when I arrive at Grimmauld Place after following Ginny's instructions. I begin to jog up the stairs from the kitchen into the main hallway just as Ron is coming down the main stairs, dripping wet, in just a towel. I swear the boy is trying to kill me.

"Hermione? What's wrong?" He sounds scared as he rushes to me and I can see the look of concern on his face. I softly smooth the crinkle in his brow with my right hand in an attempt to calm him down. He tends to react negatively to me shouting ever since the incident at Malfoy Manor during the war.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just realized we need to Floo Harry and tell him our news. We can't tell your family without him."

I can see him visibly relax as the tension goes out of his shoulders and he chuckles. "You know, you have a tendency to overreact," he leans in to rest his forehead on mine.

"Me? How about you, Mr. Overprotective?" I tease him and lean in further until our lips meet in a sweet kiss. Ron pulls me closer to him and begins to play with the hem of my shirt, but I can feel the droplets of water from his chiseled torso soaking through my blouse. I put my hand on his chest to push him away and mumble against his lips, "Mmm, Ron, you're getting me all wet."

"I know I am," he laughs.

So obviously I smack him away and stalk back to the kitchen. "Get dressed and meet me down here in five minutes," I shout over my shoulder.

I put on some tea and flip through the Prophet while I wait for Ron. Surprisingly he appears in the basement just in time. Without a word, I go to the fireplace and reach for the pot of Floo powder, but he gently grabs my wrist and pulls me towards him.

"I'm sorry about before," he apologizes and kisses the tip of my nose. "You're just so cute when you're angry."

I roll my eyes, but I'm no longer annoyed with him anymore. "Let's just tell Harry, okay?" I throw a pinch of Floo powder into the fireplace and give the proper destination so that we can speak to Harry. Our heads spin around in a whir through different fireplaces until we can see Harry sitting at the desk in his hotel room. When he notices his fireplace jumps to life he gives a start and falls out of his desk with his wand at the ready.

"Merlin's pants, you two! Have you ever heard of knocking?" He splutters, trying to catch his breath.

"Sorry, mate. We just have some news for you," Ron turns to look at me and I give him a slight nod to let him know that he can tell Harry. "We're engaged!"

Harry looks between the two of us and a grin spreads across his face. "That's fantastic! I wish you were actually here and not just your heads so I could hug you."

"Now we'll all be Weasleys!" Ron exclaims as if he has made an amazing discovery.

At the mention of me being a Weasley, my stomach does that flip-flop thing again, but I forget it when I point out, "Ron, Harry is not going to be a Weasley, traditionally the male keeps his last name. Besides I think the wizarding world would notice if he was no longer Harry Potter."

"Some things never change," Ron mumbles. I elbow him in the side out of sight of Harry since our bodies are still in Grimmauld Place. Ron rubs his side with an audible, "Ow!"

Harry shakes his head and laughs at our antics. "So have you decided on a date yet?"

At this I can feel my forehead crinkle with worry at the mention of a wedding date, and I can feel Harry's eyes on me, as he sees what Ron cannot at this angle. I give him a slight shake of my head that we can talk about it later considering I don't even know why I get butterflies at the mere mention of my wedding.

"Woah, slow down mate. We just got engaged last night," Ron responds for me. "Besides, we don't want to steal you and Ginny's spotlight with a wedding so soon after yours."

I feel myself relax at his response. Harry's watch begins to glow red, indicating that he needs to attend to Auror duties. Ron got the same watch when he became an Auror. He looks down at the time

"Well, that's my cue to get going. We'll talk later," he gives me the briefest penetrating glance of concern that I'm sure Ron hasn't noticed. "Congratulations, you two. I really am happy for you."

He begins to gather his things to leave, so Ron and I pull our heads back out of his fireplace and into Grimmauld Place.

I dust the ash off of my knees as I stand up.

"Would you like to stay for some tea? I still have some paperwork to finish, but you could hang around here and read for a bit before dinner. You left that book up in my room last time you were here."

"That would be nice," I respond and we settle in for a cozy afternoon at Grimmauld Place.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to those of you who have reviewed the story so far! I really appreciate it as a first time author. Keep reading and let me know what you all think!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Any person, place, thing, or idea you recognize is JK Rowling's. I'm just trying to picture what could have happened next!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

After an afternoon lazing around Ron and Harry's place, it's time to apparate to the Burrow. We arrive at the apparation point in the field nearby. We walk in a comfortable silence as Ron holds my left hand in his right and I can feel him fidgeting with my engagement ring that now adorns my finger. I rest my head on his shoulder as we slowly make our way towards his childhood home.

"When do you want to tell them," I ask.

"I was thinking before dinner when everyone's seated at the table. Just try to keep this hand in your pocket until we've told them," he lifts our hands to his lips and kisses my knuckles, just above the ring.

"I think I can manage that," I pull my hand from his and stick it in my pocket as we reach the door. He opens it for me and ushers me inside where his mother is cooking a feast with the help of Percy's wife Audrey. They must've just gotten back from their honeymoon after their wedding in June. Fleur is feeding baby Dominique a bottle while also holding her wand over a bowl causing the spoon to stir the pudding for dessert. Tonks's mother is standing by the stove watching something boil, so I know Teddy is around somewhere.

"Hello, dears," Mrs. Weasley bustles around the kitchen table to kiss and hug us both. "Your brothers are in the dining room setting the table," she addresses Ron. After all of the marriages and the grandchildren that are beginning to arrive, the Weasleys decided it was time to expand the Burrow to include a dining room that could fit their ever-growing family. "Ginny and Angelina are in the garden teaching Teddy and Victoire to ride toy brooms. Make yourselves at home!"

By this she means that Ron has to go help, but I can do whatever I wish. He rolls his eyes and gives me a kiss on the cheek, causing me to blush, before he stalks off to the dining room to help set up for dinner. Instead of going to find Ginny, Angelina, and the kids, I sit down at the table and offer to take over the stirring for Fleur.

She tells all of us stories of the adorable things Dominique is doing now that she is coming up on seven months. Unlike Victoire's platinum blond ringlets, she is developing quite the head of messy red hair. Fleur launches into a story about how the other night she walked by the nursery and found Victoire using her magic which she still can't control to make Dominque's mobile shoot stars as it spun above her crib. I absently stir the pudding and nod and coo with the other women at the right moments as I try to quell my nerves over what is about to happen. I can feel a pair of eyes on me so I look up from my task and see Mrs. Weasley staring at me in her knowing-mother-stare kind of way. I quickly look away and get back to my stirring.

Soon enough it's time for dinner, and I take my usual seat next to Ron and George and across from Ginny. The seat beside her that's usually occupied by Harry has been taken over by Teddy who has changed his hair color to a vibrant pink in an attempt to impress Victoire. Ah young love.

As Mrs. Weasley levitates the meal she has prepared onto the table and takes her seat, Ron stands and clears his throat to get everyone's attention. After a moment of murmuring, the table falls silent.

"Sorry to keep you all from your food, but I have an important announcement to make. As you all know, Hermione and I have been dating for just over five years now. We love each other very much, so you probably won't be surprised to find out that we're engaged!"

I'm surprised by the confidence with which he gives this little speech. The Ron I've known since age eleven usually stutters and blushes through emotional conversations. I find that I'm the one blushing when his family is suddenly jumping out of their seats to attack us with hugs and kisses and get a look at my ring. It's all very overwhelming, but Ron's hand never falls from the small of my back, keeping me steady.

After what must be at least five minutes of congratulations, Teddy shrieks from his seat, "Can we eat now?! I'm starving!"

Everyone laughs and sits back down. Mr. Weasley stands back up and picks up his glass. "I would like to make a toast to Ron and Hermione. By no means is marriage easy, but when you truly love each other it is worth it. Hermione, you've been so important to our family for years. No doubt you saved Ron's life multiple times, and without you Harry and Ron couldn't have saved Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets all of those years ago. Ron, she is special. Take care of her. You two deserve all of the happiness in the world. To Ron and Hermione."

He lifts his glass and everyone at the table does the same and repeats, "To Ron and Hermione," as they clink their glasses together. Once I put my drink down I have to use my napkin to wipe my eyes dry from the tears that have formed during Mr. Weasley's speech. Ron drapes his arm around the back of my chair and rubs my shoulders. I lean my forehead against his for a second to calm myself. We separate with a brief kiss as the food begins to make its rounds.

* * *

After five retellings of Ron's proposal and flashing my ring about a million times, it's almost nine o'clock, and the guests begin to clear out. Mrs. Weasley packs up some leftovers for Ginny and me to take home, When Ron and I return form a walk around the garden, we find Mrs. Weasley bustling around the kitchen as she packs up some leftovers for Ginny and me to take home.

"Mum, we're grown women, we don't need you to give us a week's worth of food every time we come here. We do know how to cook," Ginny complains from her seat atop the table.

"Now Ginny, I just want to take care of my girls. Besides you'd better know how to cook if you plan to keep Harry fed."

"Oh please mother, do you really think I'm going to just be a housewife once we're married? No way am I going to slave away in the kitchen all day like you. Not that I don't appreciate it!" She jumps off the table and goes to hug and kiss Mrs. Weasley goodbye. "Well, we should get going. I have an early practice tomorrow. I'm going to go say bye to Dad. I'll see you Saturday for the dress fitting! Meet me outside in a minute, Hermione so we can apparate back together."

I nod and she grabs the bag of food as she heads into the family room to see Mr. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley comes around the table so that she's standing in front of Ron and me. She grabs our hands and looks teary eyed as she says, "I really am so happy for the two of you. You certainly haven't had and easy ride."

With that she hugs and kisses each of us. After giving Ron his bag of leftovers, rather larger than what she's given Ginny and me to share, we go to leave. Ginny is waiting for us at the apparation point like she said she would.

"So I'll see you tomorrow, then?" Ron asks.

"Yes, of course. I have a big meeting about my house-elf law, so I'm not sure when I'll be done. Want to just meet me at my office?"

"Sure, I'll be around the Ministry tomorrow anyways, holding down the fort since Harry's gone. See you around noon."

He leans down to kiss me then disapparates after a quick "I love you". Ginny and I apparate home to the woodsy area in the park across the street from our apartment building and begin the walk up three flights of stairs.

"Does he know what your meeting tomorrow is about?" She questions almost immediately.

"Well, he knows it has to do with the law I'm trying to push through."

"But does he know who it's with?"

"Erm, if you mean Cormac McLaggen, then no. I couldn't find the right way to tell him and then he proposed, so I got distracted and completely forgot until just now. I'm a terrible fiancée."

"Only a little. I mean it's just a work meeting. And it's sort of embarrassing that you have to meet with someone from Ministry Public Relations to help you shape the image of this law since you come across kind of grumpy."

"I am not grumpy!"

"Woah there! Who said you were? I'm just saying you can come across that way to people who don't know why you're so passionate about house-elf rights. You just seem like some crazy radical out to turn the wizarding world on its head to most people."

"I still don't think I should have to meet with _McLaggen_. I want to vomit whenever I'm around him."

* * *

The meeting is just as miserable as I expected it to be. McLaggen is a somewhat notorious bachelor among the witches at the Ministry. Almost all of the single ones want to date him, but he acts like such a pompous jerk that after one date with him they want to run the other way. Even though I have my engagement ring on, and he knows I've been dating Ron for years, he can't help but try to charm me.

"Hermione, you are looking beautiful as ever," he greets me. He doesn't stop there, though. A verbal greeting is not enough, so he reaches out and plays with a loose curl of my hair that has fallen out of its bun.

I shrug him off and say, "Good to see you too, Cormac." I don't think he picks up on my sarcasm. I move away from the door to sit behind my desk and he sits across from me. The meeting that would only take an hour with a normal PR representative takes all morning and goes into my lunch break by fifteen minutes. McLaggen can't resist the opportunity to talk about himself whenever he can. I don't see how his game of Quidditch with the Chudley Cannons, when he was the only person against them and he apparently won, has anything to do with our meeting. Finally, we have mapped out a plan for presenting my law to the public and we can leave.

As I'm shooing him from my office as kindly as possible, I open the door to see Ron sitting outside. He gets up when he hears the door open and turns towards McLaggen and me as we walk out. His face instantly turns red and I feel my own heat up. McLaggen still hasn't noticed him.

"Well, it was lovely to see you again, Hermione. We'll have to do this again sometime."

I hope that he will leave after this, but of course Cormac must make everything as awkward as possible, so he goes in for the goodbye hug. I'm taken by surprise and go as stiff as a board until he releases me, and turns to go with a brief, "Oh! Hello, Ron."

As he walks down the hall I turn to Ron, ready to apologize. Before I can say anything though, Ron just snorts and storms off in the other direction. I try to follow him, but his legs are much longer than mine, so he reaches the elevators before I'm even halfway there. As the elevator closes behind him, I feel tears begin to well in my eyes so I quickly make my way back to my office before I can let anyone see my cry over Ron Weasley once again.

* * *

A/N: Thanks again to everyone who has been reading and reviewing! The end of this chapter was a little bit angstier than I like to go, so I'm sorry if it was poorly written. I swear it will be resolved soon. I much prefer fluff!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, anything recognizable belongs to the amazing JKR.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

By Wednesday, I still haven't seen or heard from Ron. I've tried Flooing him at Grimmauld Place, sending interoffice memos at the Ministry, sending notes with my owl, Darcy, and visiting his office. He refuses to see me. Ginny has talked to him in passing and says he probably just needs time to cool off, but I'm getting worried. The Ron I know does have tendency of running off when things between us get tough. I've resigned myself to going to my weekly dinner at my parents' house alone, even though Ron comes with me every week that he is not away.

I apparate to the park in my parents' neighborhood and walk briskly to their door. The lack of streetlights gives the place an eerie feel that makes my skin crawl. I reach the door of my childhood home where they returned after I restored their memories in Australia. I hear my mum's heels clacking down the hallway on the hardwood floor to the front door.

"Hermione, darling! It's so nice to see you," she exclaims and wraps me in a warm hug.

"Good to see you too, Mum. Hello, Dad!" I greet him as he comes out of the kitchen and into the entryway. He gives me a hug as Mum lets me go, then steps back.

"Where's Ron? I thought he was coming," his forehead knits together with worry, much like mine does, at least I've been told as much.

While I hate lying to my parents ever since the memory charm, I don't believe telling them Ron and I haven't spoken in days would be the right idea when I am planning on telling them about the engagement during dinner. "Oh he got called out of town on an assignment last minute. He sends his love," I lie and bite my lip. Dad nods his head and turns back towards the kitchen, but Mum holds my eye contact, making me feel uncomfortable and causing me to look away. She knows I've lied.

We take the same seats at the table that we've used since I was little and begin to pass the food around. I figure now is as good a time as any since they will notice my ring eventually.

"Mum, Dad, I have something to tell you."

"Oh please don't say you're pregnant and Ron has left you which is why he really isn't here tonight!" My mom spits out in one breath. I'm taken aback by her assumption.

"Merlin! No! Mum, have you gone mental? I'm just engaged!" I splutter. Realizing that I let slip my big news rather unceremoniously, after a moment of silence I add, "To Ron."

"Thank Heavens!" Mum jumps out of her seat to hug me before I can even get out of my chair to meet her.

"Mum. Can't. Breathe," I gasp. She loosens her grip as I stand so she isn't awkwardly bent over. I take a look at Dad and see that he is staring at his plate, fiddling with a fork. When Mum releases me, he looks up and makes eye contact and I can see that he has tears welling up in his eyes that match mine. He stands and hugs me even tighter than Mum did before.

"I'm really happy for you," he whispers into my hair. He kisses the top of my head and gives me one last squeeze before we resume our seats at the table. Just as we sit down, the doorbell rings and we all look around as if trying to figure out who is missing. When I realize it must be Ron.

"I'll get it," I say just as my parents are getting out of their seats. I rush to the front door and crack it open to see Ron. I open it fully and greet him almost shyly, "Hi."

"Hi." He just stares at me for a bit, hoping I will say something. When he realizes I'm not going to break the stalemate he gestures with his right hand and says, "I brought wine."

"I already told them you got called out of town for work."

"I figured you would."

"I told them we're engaged."

He sighs, "Can I come in please?"

I step aside to allow him entry and we walk back to the kitchen. I put on my happy face when we reach the table and I can sense Ron doing the same.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Sorry I'm late. I was supposed to go help Harry with his mission, but he ended up catching the bad guy just as I was about to get my portkey. I brought your favorite wine, Mrs. Granger." This is an even bigger lie. If Harry "caught the bad guy", then Ginny would have told me to stay out of the apartment tonight so they could have a big, loud reunion. Lucky for Ron, my parents don't know that the tips of his ears flame red whenever he lies.

"You're such a dear. Now come here and let me hug my future son in law!" Mum rushes towards Ron and I grab the bottle from him before he can drop it in surprise. I pull out my wand and uncork it, summoning four glasses so I can pour out the only thing that is going to get me through this dinner relatively sane.

* * *

"Goodbye, Mumsy. Goodbye, Dad. I'll see you next week!" I shout as the door closes. I'm leaning heavily on Ron's arm as we leave the house. I may have had a bit more to drink than I usually would. My parents think it was celebratory. Ron and I both know otherwise. However, my head is so fuzzy that I can't seem to care enough to lift it off of his shoulder. "You don't have to take me home. I can get there by myself."

"Friends don't let friends drink and apparate," he is significantly less drunk than I am. Come to think of it, I don't think he had a single sip of wine during dinner

"Oh, so that's all we are now. Friends."

"You know what I mean, 'Mione."

We've reached the trees in the park now and he grabs my arm to side-along apparate me back home. After a very unpleasant sensation intensified by my drunken state, we are outside my flat and we begin the trek up the stairs.

"Don't you ''Mione' me, mister," I poke him in the arm, continuing our conversation from ten seconds ago. "You're the one who hasn't talked to me in days. And you made me lie to my parents."

He pulls me around to face him and stares me right in the eye. I'm taken aback for a second by his startlingly blue eyes. Literally. I almost fall backwards and he catches me with a hint of a smile before becoming serious again.

"Hermione, I'm really sorry. I overreacted before I even gave you a chance to explain."

"You have a tendency to do that."

He cringes as the memories of our Hogwarts days come flooding back to both of us.

"I promise I'll never leave you."

"You'd better mean that this time."

"So do you forgive me?"

"You know I can't stay mad at you."

"Uh…"

I can tell he is about to list all of the times I've done the exact opposite of what I just said, so I silence him with a quick kiss and add, "Anymore."

"Right. Now let's get you to bed so I can get home and we can talk about this tomorrow when you're less drunk."

"I am not drunk!" I swat his arm but miss, not helping my case.

"Of course you're not." He wraps his arm around my shoulders and we walk the rest of the way back to my apartment. When we get to my room and I've changed into my pajamas and gotten into bed, Ron comes around to give me a kiss goodnight before he leaves. "Stay?" I ask. "We can just sleep. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," he answers and with a sigh of resignation he goes to change. He keeps some pajamas and spare clothes in the drawer I designated as The Ron Drawer when Ginny and I moved in together. He crawls into bed next to me, drapes his arm around my waist, smells my hair, and kisses my temple. "I love you," he whispers into my hair.

"I love you, too," I respond as I drift off into the most peaceful sleep I've had since the proposal.

* * *

The next morning I'm making tea in the kitchen when Ginny walks in rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She squints at me long enough to register my presence then greets me with an eloquent, "Ugh."

"Good morning to you, too."

"Too early. Need more sleep."

"Well, according to Gwenog you need training more."

I am not warranted with a response, but Ginny mumbles under her breath for a bit and I pick out the words "sadistic", "loony", and "bat-bogey hex". I put a mug of tea in front of her as well as the stack of toast I just finished making. She stares at the toast for about thirty seconds, counting and recounting the pieces, and finally makes her first coherent comment of the morning.

"When did you and Ron make up?" She takes a long sip of coffee and begins guzzling toast so quickly she could give her brother a run for his money.

"Last night. He ended up coming to my parents' house for dinner. He apologized after, but I was a little too tipsy to actually talk about it." The truth is I was terrified to talk about it today.

"Dash good. Bow I don' haf too find a bew maid of hobor," she says through a mouthful of toast. Luckily, I don't have to ask her to repeat herself since I've become fluent in Weasleys-talking-with-their-mouths-full.

"Oh please, you wouldn't really change your entire wedding party if Ron and I still weren't speaking. Besides, Harry wouldn't have allowed it.

She swallows and comes back, "Like he has much say in the matter."

At this point Ron comes into the kitchen in a rush. He drops a bit of parchment on the table that I can see has the Ministry seal at the bottom and I notice that one of the black owls reserved for urgent messages is following him, waiting for a reply. He grabs a quill and a scrap piece of paper we keep near the oven and begins writing.

"Good morning to you, too, brother," Ginny says jokingly.

"Yeah, hi." He finishes writing, rolls up his note and gives it to the owl that takes off through the open kitchen window. He grabs a piece of toast, which is gone faster than should be humanly possible.

"Is everything okay?" I ask.

"Just got word from the Ministry that Harry's mission isn't going as planned. They need back up so I have to go. I need to be at the Ministry," he pauses to look at his watch and looks startled as he continues, "In two minutes to catch a portkey. Really sorry I couldn't stay."

I stand up to follow him to the front door, bringing him two more pieces of toast to take for the road.

"You'll be careful, won't you?" I ask as I hand him his breakfast.

"Of course. We can talk when I get back about everything?"

I nod, not wanting to waste time on words. "I love you," I kiss him goodbye and he holds me a little tighter than usual.

"Love you too." With one last kiss he's out the door and disapparates. I return to the kitchen where Ginny is in hysterics. I go to hug her, even though she's still seated at the table.

"Oh, Ginny, I'm sure Harry's fine. He just said that the mission wasn't going well, that doesn't mean Harry is in any danger."

She nods into my shoulder, but I can still feel tears soaking through my, well Ron's, Chudley Cannons shirt. We stay like that for a while, and I stroke her hair until her sobbing subsides.

"You three always put yourselves in such danger, and I'm expected to sit by and watch."

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere. I got out of the danger business as soon as I could."

"Don't deny that you're not itching to go help. I know you've been involved in their Auror missions before."

"That's only happened three times because Harry and Ron needed back up and the Ministry knows how well we work together. Look on the bright side: they didn't ask for my help this time so it can't be all that bad!" I try to cheer her up. It seems to work.

"Yeah," she snuffles. "Ugh. I don't want to go to work today. Having Gwenog yell at me through seven hours of drills is really not my highest priority at the moment."

"Then let's play hooky."

"Hold the post! Did Hermione Granger just suggest skipping work? The girl who was upset when finals were cancelled during her second year even though she spent the better half of it unconscious? Merlin, I think I'm having a stroke."

"Well, we'd call in sick," I try to explain myself. "We wouldn't just not show up."

"Oh, of course." Ginny's eyes are twinkling so I know I've found a way to distract her. I wonder what I've just gotten myself into.

* * *

A/N: As always, thanks for reading and reviewing! Just a quick FYI: updates are about to become less frequent/regular since I'm heading back to school soon and won't have as much time to write and post. I'm not going to suddenly stop writing though as long as people keep enjoying this story :)


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. That all belongs to JKR. And a little bit to Joss Whedon since there are some serious "Buffy" reference (be warned, there may be minor plot spoilers for "Buffy")

* * *

**Chapter 6**

"Can't we just eat the cookie dough? Do we really have to bake it?" Ginny pesters me impatiently. I just finished mixing together the ingredients for white chocolate chip cookies, Ginny's favorite, for our all-day-stay-in-watching-Muggle-TV-day-of-fun as Ginny has named it.

I roll my eyes, but since this is Ginny's day, I respond, "Fine. But only because you're my best friend."

"Not to mention future sister-in-law!"

I giggle nervously and say nothing. I'm still nervous about this whole marriage thing, especially since Ron just avoided me for three days straight. We levitate what we can't carry of our snacks towards the coffee table and settle everything down as we plop into the couch for a day without movement. I summon the remote and turn on the TV.

"I love magic," Ginny proclaims.

"Any reason for this sudden declaration of love?"

"Oh you know, you just make the remote come to you. Now, if you were a muggle, you would've had to get up to get it. Magic allows us to have a day where we do not have to get up from the couch at all."

"What if we have to go to the bathroom?"

"Good point. I guess I just like magic a whole lot. More than Dudley Dursley likes cake."

I chuckle at her actual disappointment with this revelation as I flip through the channels. I finally stumble upon, and shout quite loudly, "Buffy!"

"Merlin, Hermione! I'm sitting right here. No need to deafen me!"

"Sorry, but this channel has a 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' marathon all day?"

"Buddy the who what now?"

"Not Buddy, Buffy. The vampire slayer. 'In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer,'" I recite along with the beginning of the pilot episode which has just begun. "It's an American show that started during the last half of my sixth year at Hogwarts and just ended a year ago. I didn't watch it until after the War though. It's strangely accurate to Harry's life, actually. Both of them have two-sidekick friends- a boy and a girl- and an older mentor. Both of them have special powers. Except in this case the Chosen One is a boy."

"It amazes me that you have all this time to watch Muggle TV when you're constantly reading and you remain to be the smartest person I know."

"I like to say TV clears away space in the brain for new information to take up. It's completely inaccurate. But that's what I tell myself to make me feel better."

We watch the first season of Buffy in relative silence. Occasionally summoning more snacks from the kitchen or nail polish to keep us entertained. Ginny comments once in a while about how much Buffy and her "Scooby gang" truly are like our group of friends.

"You really are Willow," she says at one point. "You're both really smart, have weird hair, and are totally in love with the boy-sidekick-friend but he's too dumb to notice."

"Ha ha. Very funny." I don't enlighten her on Willow's future romantic life. That can be something I hope she never gets to. I point out, "You do realize that in this analogy you're Angel?"

"What are you talking about? Of course I'm a big strong broody man," she mimics a deep voice and we dissolve into laughter.

"Sounds more like Harry. The broody part at least."

"Touché!"

By the end of the first season, Ginny is almost in shock.

"Buffy really is like Harry! I mean they both survived something that should have killed them!"

"Wait until you see the season five finale."

"Really? What happens?!"

"You'll have to watch and find out," I yawn and look at my watch. "Merlin it's half past ten. Where did the day go?"

"Sucked into the Hellmouth that is Muggle TV."

"Too true." We walk down the hall to the bathroom to brush our teeth and get ready for bed since we do in fact have to work tomorrow.

"Ooo bow what bovers be?" Ginny asks through a mouthful of toothpaste. Thankfully Weasleys-talking-with-their-mouths-full-of-toothpaste is just a dialect of Weasleys-talking-with-their-mouths-full.

"What bothers you, Gin?" I ask after spitting before I resume my brushing.

She spits and runs the water. "Obviously the vampires look ridiculous. And practically none of the magical creatures are accurate. But what really annoys me is they portrayed witches all wrong. I mean, no one has that much control when doing wandless magic."

I spit again and rinse my mouth before pointing out, "It's a _muggle_ TV show. Do you really think they understand the physics of magic? Imagination runs wild for them."

"I guess. It is a phenomenal show though. Season two this weekend after the dress fitting?"

"Is that even a serious question?"

* * *

On Saturday, we still haven't heard from Ron or Harry. When it comes to their Auror missions, no news is usually good news, so Ginny is in high spirits when we leave for the dress shop for her final wedding dress fitting.

"Mum is going to meet us there," she says over her shoulder as she performs the locking charms on our flat. I check to see that the coast is clear and there are no muggles in the hallway so we can apparate safely. "All set!" She announces, grabbing my arm and side-along apparating us to Hogsmeade where the shop is located.

"Merlin, give a girl some warning before doing that, Gin."

"Sorry. I'm just so excited! I can't wait to see my dress again. I swear I'd marry it if I could."

"Poor Harry, he'll have to live his life knowing his wife is in love with another."

"What an unfortunate situation." She pushes open the door to Lavish Lavender's, the dress shop Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil opened after the war. When we were at Hogwarts, they used to talk endlessly about opening their own store where they would sell their own designs. They even showed me some of their sketches when we shared a dorm, all of which were quite good. Since Lavender does most of the designing while Parvati takes care of the business side of things, the store is named after her.

The fairies that wait on the inside of the door begin to sing cheerfully and dust us with the customary lavender glitter that greets everyone who enters the store. Apparently the fairy dust is supposed to bring good luck. The commotion draws Lavender out from the back room.

"Ginny! Hermione," she greets me less enthusiastically. I think she's still bitter that Ron chose me over her. Her face is quite scarred after she was attacked during the Battle of Hogwarts, but she has always known how to apply make up to cover even the worst of blemishes. To Ginny she says, "It's so good to see you! I was just showing your mum some alterations I made to your dress."

As she hugs us both, me for a much shorter time than Ginny, Mrs. Weasley hurries out from the back where the alterations room is located and rushes towards us.

"You girls are late! I expected you fifteen minutes ago!"

"Sorry, Mum. Don't get your knickers in a twist. Angelina's not even here yet."

"Yes, well, you're the bride Ginny. We can't very well start without you!"

"It's no worry, Mrs. Weasley," Parvati says as she comes out of the back room to greet us. "I always book the whole day when old friends come in. Only the best for the fiancé of the boy I went to the Yule Ball with."

Before we can begin to reminisce to the point of no return, the fairies begin to sing again as the door opens revealing Angelina Johnson, Ginny's third bridesmaid.

"So sorry I'm late!" She exclaims, swatting the fairies away and swinging her braids in attempt to remove the glitter from her hair.

"Oh don't worry, Dear. These two just got here as well," Mrs. Weasley greets her warmly.

"Really, Mother? We weren't even fifteen minutes late and we're yelled at. Angelina is almost twenty and you're about to bake her a batch of cookies! You'd think _she_ was your only daughter."

Mrs. Weasley just scowls at Ginny in response as she hugs Angelina. She's been quite enamored with Angelina ever since she and George started dating two years after the war. As Ginny pointed out, he's almost like he was with Fred when he's with Angelina. Before they started seeing each other, George spent a lot of time in his and Fred's old room at the Burrow, only leaving to eat or use the bathroom. He finally left the house for the first anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts to attend the memorial at the school. Then Ginny joined the Holyhead Harpies the summer after we graduated and Angelina started to hang around the Burrow a lot after practices since she was one of Ginny's trainers and they grew close. She and George would talk about Fred and she even got him to start pulling pranks again. They went out "just as friends" for a while before they officially began dating about a month before the second anniversary of the end of the war. Ginny says her family owes Angelina a lot since without her, George would probably still be holed up in his room at the Burrow.

"So, all of the dresses are in the fitting area, if you'll just follow me," Parvati interrupts our mini reunion as she and Lavender lead us to an area with overstuffed lavender velvet chairs that sit atop a plush white carpet. A three-way mirror stands against one wall with a small pedestal in front of it for the person being fitted to stand on, and a large room separated by a white silk curtain sits across from it were customers can change. "Your dress is hanging up in there," she addresses Ginny and motions towards the fitting room.

Mrs. Weasley, Angelina, and I sit down and help ourselves to the complimentary sugar cookies sitting out on a coffee table draped with a white silk table cloth. Soon enough the curtain is pulled back from the fitting room and Ginny steps out, followed by Parvati and Lavender carrying her train. We are all rendered speechless as she steps onto the pedestal and the dress is arranged around her. Mrs. Weasley lets out a sob and runs to her daughter.

"Oh! You're so beautiful!" She goes to hug her, and Ginny cautiously reciprocates.

"Mum, try not to get tears on the dress," she says soothingly.

"I'm sorry, dear. I just never imagined my baby girl would be getting married!"

"Good to know you pegged me as a spinster from day one."

"Oh, Ginny. You know what I mean," she smacks her daughter's arm playfully in mock frustration, but a smile is still wrinkling the corners of her eyes.

Lavender gets to work, pinning the hem where appropriate and adjusting the waistline where necessary. Ginny has been getting smaller and smaller as Gwenog has increased the intensity of her Quidditch workouts. Soon the girl will have no fat on her, just muscle. The dress really is perfect for her. The trumpet style hugs her slim body all the way to her knees where it flares out just enough to make her appear like a mermaid. Its low sweetheart neckline makes her neck seem miles long, and the pure white lace makes her skin look flawless. A trail of small pearl buttons, that must be done individually and don't just cover a zipper, leads down the back of the dress to the top of the trumpet part where the slightest of trains (that will magically retract so she can dance during the reception) trails behind her. She really is a vision in that dress.

When Lavender is done pinning, she steps back and we all just stare at Ginny for a while.

"Do try not to drop another dress size. Otherwise we'll have to make adjustments on the day of the wedding."

"Don't worry, I'll keep her eating lots of baked goodies when she gets home from practice every day," I joke.

"But then I'll be big as a house!"

Ginny actually seems worried that I might be serious, so I inform her, "I'm only teasing, silly." She chuckles nervously and gives herself one last look in the mirror before turning to face Angelina and me.

"Okay, now it's your turn, bridesmaids!"

We roll our eyes and moan but soon enough Ginny has changed back into her jeans and T-shirt and we're in the fitting room pulling on our satin, emerald green bridesmaids' dresses. They're knee length and sleeveless with a deep v-neck and back. Around the waist is a wide white satin ribbon that ties in a bow in the back. Ginny picked the color scheme to be emerald, black, and white since it "matches Harry's eyes". We walk out to the fitting area and Parvati begins to adjust Angelina's dress while Lavender does mine.

This of course is the moment Ginny decides to point out, "You know, Hermione and Ron just got engaged, and she is going to need a wedding dress soon."

I feel myself blush and jump a bit when the pin Lavender was working into the hem by my knee is suddenly poking me quite forcefully.

"Oh, Hermione! That's wonderful! You have to try on some dresses. There won't be any other customers today so we have plenty of time to look!" Parvati all but shouts and jumps up and down. I look down to see Lavender furiously sticking pins into my dress and feel my blush deepen.

I am anxious at this suggestion. First of all I still get butterflies when someone mentions getting married. Secondly, it seems tactless to buy a dress for my wedding at the store owned by my fiancé's ex-girlfriend. Especially when they broke up because he said my name instead of hers when he was unconscious in the hospital wing in sixth year. Thirdly, I would feel awful buying a wedding dress without my mum. To avoid an awkward situation, I give the third reason as an excuse to get out of trying on wedding dresses today.

"Your mother would most likely want to be with you when you try on a wedding dress for the first time, dear," Mrs. Weasley comes to my defense and smiles warmly at me in the mirror. I feel myself relax.

"You're no fun, Hermione," Ginny whines

"Yes, I know. I'm such a party-pooper."

"Well, whenever you are ready to try on dresses, feel free to send me an owl and set up an appointment," Parvati offers.

"Oh, yes. I'd just _love_ to design your wedding dress," Lavender gushes sarcastically. I think I'm the only one that picks up her disdain except for Parvati.

Soon enough we're all done with the fitting and Ginny and I apparate home after Mrs. Weasley scolds her for not eating enough at such a stressful time.

"Oh please," Ginny huffs as we walk up the stairs to our flat. "As if I could under eat. I'm a Weasley! Want to have ice cream sundaes and watch those tape thingies you have of 'Buffy' until we pass out from exhaustion." She is referring to the videotapes I have recorded of the season two marathon that followed our lazy day in front of the television on Thursday.

"Sounds like a plan to me!"

However, our plan is quickly foiled since when we walk in our door, Harry and Ron, who just got back from their mission, are standing there waiting for us. Ginny squeals and jumps into Harry's arms, wrapping her legs around his waist as she kisses every inch of his face.

"Oi! Stop that!" Ron exclaims, but with a smile since he loves to see his little sister happy. He turns to me and holds out his arms, which I run into, for a warm hug. "Hi, you," he says into my hair, taking a deep breath of my raspberry shampoo.

"Hello," I say, breathing in the comforting parchment smell of the cologne I gave him for his birthday. "When did you get back?"

"About fifteen minutes ago," Harry responds once Ginny has gotten down and allowed him to breathe. He gives me a brotherly hug as Ron and Ginny do the same, and I feel much more at ease knowing that he and Ron are both safe. "We thought we'd hang out here and then get dinner later."

At the mention of food, Ron's stomach growls, and I catch the real reason that they came straight here. "And you were hungry, but Kreacher wasn't at Grimmauld Place so you came here to steal our food?" I say accusingly.

"It's like she can read minds!" Ron jokes.

"But somehow she hated Divination," Harry carries on.

I roll my eyes. "We were going to make ice cream sundaes and watch 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' all day."

"Ugh. A girl day," Ron complains.

I smack his arm and retort, "Beggars can't be choosers."

"She has a point, Ron," Harry says.

"How about we have ice cream sundaes and you boys tell us what you've been up to!" Ginny suggests hopefully.

"Well I can't say no to ice cream," Ron concedes.

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked it! If you understood the "Buffy" moments then yay! If you didnt, then go watch "Buffy"! It's a fantastic show and there will be other minor spoilers as Hermione and Ginny watch the rest of the show occasionally in future chapters. I'll keep the spoilers to hints at the "Buffy" plot though and try to leave out major details. Leave me reviews and let me know what you think! Thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. JK Rowling is queen of anything you recognize.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"So we're at the fitting, and Ginny just decides to blurt out that we're engaged," I find myself recounting the events of the afternoon to Harry and Ron over our sundaes after they've told us as much as they can about their mission. "Which is when Lavender stabs me with the pin she was supposed to be sticking in my dress."

"You're exaggerating, Hermione," Ginny shakes her head at me. "I swear you're imagining her dislike for you."

"Oh really? Did you hear the way she said she'd '_love_' to design my wedding dress?" I question using my best Lavender impression, which is pretty good. I always used to imitate her when telling Harry how much I hated her during sixth year.

Ginny rolls her eyes again, "I'm sure she would actually love to design your dress because she'd get amazing press for it. Imagine being the person the design all of the dresses for the weddings of the Golden Trio."

Now I roll my eyes, "Honestly, Ginny. For someone who reads as much Witch Weekly as you do, I'd think you could pick up on bitchy comments like Lavender's."

"So she doesn't like the idea of us getting married?" Ron finally pipes up with a hint of a smile. "Missing the old Ron Weasley, I reckon."

"Oh please, Ron. Like anyone would miss you," Ginny scoffs.

"Yeah, I mean what's so special about Ron?" Harry joins in the ribbing.

"Ha ha, guys. Very funny," Ron tries to sound like he's not really offended by their teasing, but I see the tips of his ears turning red in embarrassment.

I rub his hand that lies next to mine on the table to comfort him and say, "Ronald, why would you want Lavender to miss you, anyways? She drove you mad."

"Oh he just loves to know that there are witches everywhere pining over him," Ginny answers for him.

I'm a bit put off by her response, and I suppose it shows because Harry cuts in, "That was rhetorical, Gin."

"Oopsies! Well, it's an acceptable time for dinner. What say you all to a trip to the Leaky Cauldron? Then maybe we can go to The Cackling Stump for drinks and dancing?" The Cackling Stump is a bar that opened in Diagon Alley about three years ago. It has become a popular nightspot that usually has a band and dancing on weekends.

"Yes please! I'm starved!" Ron exclaims.

"You just ate a five scoop sundae," I point out.

"A man's gotta eat," Ron defends himself. I shake my head as we all gather our stuff for our trip to Diagon Alley.

* * *

After dinner, we make our way to The Cackling Stump with Neville and Hannah in tow. Once we are close enough, we can see the sign above the door says the Weird Sisters are playing tonight.

"Oh this is going to be so much fun!" Ginny squeals, clutching Harry's arm. He looks a little less enthusiastic since there's sure to be paparazzi at the show. However, he has that smile that only Ginny can put on his face, so I know he'll suck it up to have a good time for her.

"I hate dancing," Ron whines just loud enough for me to hear.

"I know you do, but think of it this way: you'll get to hold me all night long." I blush at my forwardness, but smile when I see that I've made Ron relax.

"Hopefully we don't have to stay too long," Ron almost growls into my ear, and I feel my heart rate pick up at the implication of his words.

Once we've gotten our drinks, we make our way to a table with a few barstools close enough to see the band but far enough away that we might evade the photographers. There are only four seats at the table so I sit in Ron's lap with his arm draped across my legs while Harry stands beside Ginny and Neville and Hannah take the final two seats. I clutch my firewhiskey and soda in my left hand while my right arm rests on Ron's shoulders so that I don't lose my balance and fall.

The bar is quite crowded, so we're doing a good job of blending into the crowd. We are chatting and enjoying our drinks when the Weird Sisters take the stage. They open with "Do the Hippogriff", so we all jump out of our seats, having finished our drinks, to dance around as if we're back at the Yule Ball in fourth year. Except this time Harry and Ron are actually dancing and I'm with Ron instead of Krum thankfully. I begin to feel the firewhiskey getting to my head when the set slows down to one of their ballads and our group splits off into couples. Ron secures his arms around my waist and I wrap mine around his neck and rest my head on his chest so the room stops spinning.

"You know we never talked about what happened with Cormac," Ron finally brings up the elephant in the room that has been hanging over our heads for almost a week.

"I know. I should have told you. I was going to last Saturday, but then you proposed. I had to meet with the PR department for my house-elf law. The Ministry just set me up with Cormac. Nothing happened. I wanted to bat bogey hex him the whole time, actually," I begin to ramble and catch myself. "Happy one week engagement anniversary by the way!" I say quite enthusiastically. I tend to get very bubbly when I'm drunk.

"Obviously your drink is setting in, so I'm going to say this before you're too drunk to remember."

"Hey I always remember everything that happens when I've been drinking," I defend myself lamely.

"Except for that time at Percy's wedding. Don't interrupt me," he catches my hand as my finger goes to poke him in the chest when I try to protest. "I shouldn't have run off like I did on Monday. I didn't give you a chance to explain. I promise I'll never leave you like that ever again. That's what this ring means," he says, twisting the ring around on my left hand that he's still holding.

I want to believe him, but there's something in the back of my mind that still can't accept Ron's promise to never leave. However, in my buzzed state, I can't really think about that so I just say, "Promise?"

"I promise," he whispers before capturing my lips in a kiss that would have me dry heaving if I were to observe it in public since I hate PDA almost as much as ignorance of house-elf rights. Soon enough the song is over and the band is playing one of their new fast songs that I'm not familiar with. Our group has reconvened and we are dancing like fools. We're having so much fun that we don't even notice the paparazzi sneak up behind us and start snapping pictures of us. Whoops.

* * *

The next morning I wake up with a splitting headache and the blurry feeling of having no idea what happened last night. I open my eyes cautiously and snap them back shut as quickly as possible since the sun pouring in through my bedroom window has burned my retinas and increased my headache tenfold. I pull the extra pillow over my head and groan. Apparently loudly.

"'Mione? You awake?" I hear Ron ask through my cushiony cave of hangover protection.

"Ugh," I moan in response.

He chuckles, "I brought you some water and a hangover cure potion."

At the mention of hangover cure potion I bolt upright clutch my head due to the impossible increase in the pain in my head. The pillow I was holding over my head goes flying and almost hits Ron as he approaches the bed to sit on the edge beside me. "Sorry," I rasp through my dry throat.

He just laughs again and hands me the small cup of potion and large glass of water. I take the potion like a shot then guzzle the water as fast as I can manage.

"Ugh, that stuff is vile. Thank you, Ron," I finally manage in a normal voice as the potion takes effect.

"Hey, what am I good for if not to bring you potions to cure your hangover symptoms?"

"I can think of a lot of things," I say through a smile and lean in to kiss him. But of course this is when Ginny decides to come barging into my room.

"Merlin, Gin! Learn to knock!" Ron complains throwing the pillow that hasn't fallen to the floor at his sister. I finally realize I have yet to check whether or not I'm clothed so I look down to see that I'm wearing the button down shirt Ron was wearing yesterday and breathe a sigh of relief. I guess this makes two times I have blacked out from drinking too much.

"Well maybe you need to learn to lock the door, Bro," Ginny responds agitatedly. I notice that she's clutching a newspaper and can see that it's today's _Daily Prophet_. Harry enters the room behind her and they come to sit on the foot of my bed. "You guys are going to want to see this."

She tosses the paper at us and I can see a huge picture of Ron and me dancing, my engagement ring completely visible for the entire wizarding world to see. The headline reads: _Golden Couple to Wed. Is Happily Ever After Really in Their Future?_ I feel my face turning bright red as I furiously scan the article. Of course Rita Skeeter wrote the story, and she manages to incorrectly recap our entire relationship from day one at Hogwarts. She has included quotes from none other than Lavender Brown saying that we had a "rocky start" and "Ron chose me over her in sixth year". Skeeter even has a quote from Cormac saying "Hermione took me to a Christmas party in sixth year. We kissed under the mistletoe and there's no way she was thinking of Ron during that snog, if you know what I mean." Naturally she brings up the "drama" she contrived during fourth year with the "love triangle" between Harry, Krum, and me. It's basically a load of rubbish. And now the whole wizarding world will read it.

The only thing I can manage to say is, "Merlin's bloody beard!"

"'Mione, relax. Take a deep breath," Ron tries to soothe me, but his own anger is apparent in the redness of his face.

"I'm going to murder Rita Skeeter! She promised she wouldn't write filth like this anymore! I… I… a-a-and sh-she… she," I stutter through the hot, angry tears forming in my eyes. I have to look down at my lap so my friends won't see me cry, but Ron knows this move, so he scoots closer to me and wraps me in a tight hug. I begin to sob because I'm so frustrated I can't seem to form coherent thoughts.

"Hey it's not that bad," he says as he strokes my hair.

"Oh please, Ronald. She basically dooms our marriage before we've even had a wedding! I told you Lavender hates me," I add because it seems to be the only fact I can control about our current situation.

"So maybe we should have listened to you about that," Ginny apologizes weakly. "Since when does Rita Skeeter get to control the success of your relationship, anyways?"

"Really. She's said some awful stuff about me in the past, but I turned out just fine," Harry offers with a grin and I snort out a laugh at his attempt to cheer me up.

"Hey! Now you can out her on being an illegal animagus!" Ron suggests excitedly.

With a sigh I admit, "Yes, I guess you're right."

"Finally!" Ron punches the air and jumps from the bed to do a victory dance. I throw a pillow at him that I've picked up off the floor to try to stop his antics. He always claims that I never let him be right, usually because he is actually wrong, so he is enjoying this far too much.

Rolling her eyes once she's had enough, Ginny points out, "Oh please, Ron. As if Hermione wouldn't have arrived at that conclusion in about thirty seconds."

"She's right Ron," Harry teases. "Her brain must still be a little impaired after last night."

At the memory, or lack thereof, of last night, I wince and question, "So what happened last night anyways? Do any of you remember anything?"

"Clear as a bell for all of us. We can handle our liquor, unlike you," Ginny pinches my leg under the covers. I kick her in retaliation.

Ron resumes his seat beside me on the bed and says, "Well, you insisted on having two more firewhiskey and sodas because you were having 'oh so much fun' even though I tried to tell you no."

"It's 2003, Ron. Just because we're engaged, that doesn't mean you get to tell me what I can and cannot drink."

"Hey, I was just looking out for your safety," Ron throws his hands in the air in defense.

"Whatever, drunk Hermione is a blast," Harry declares.

"It's true," Ginny agrees. "We should get you drunk more often."

"But then I wouldn't be such a loveable lightweight. I'd just be another drunkard like you lot," I tease. Ever since Ginny and I went back for seventh year and Ron and Harry would occasionally sneak into the castle through the secret passages they made sure got rebuilt, they've very much enjoyed a good party. However, I was Head Girl at the time and never really took part in the frivolity since I had to make sure the first years didn't "accidentally" end up drinking any firewhiskey that would miraculously appear as if from nowhere in the Gryffindor common room.

Ron hugs me close to him with the arm he has wrapped around my waist and sighs, "Now isn't that the unfortunate truth."

* * *

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing! I hope you're still liking the story. I'm hoping to get Chapter 8 up within the next week and a half.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: JK Rowling is queen of anything you recognize!

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Work is miserable on Monday. My coworkers keep coming into my office with sympathetic looks as if Ron and I have broken up. Just an hour into my day, I've had enough. So when Cormac stops by my office to check on things, I explode.

"Hermione," he says with his attempt at a sympathetic head tilt. "How's everything we talked about going?"

"Fine," I reply shortly.

"Well, I saw the article in the Prophet," he is gaining confidence now, and I feel the metaphorical vomit rising. "I'm sorry things didn't work out for you and Ron. Do you want to go get a drink after work? I think we really missed our chance in sixth year."

"Get _out!_" I shout. "You have some nerve coming in here! This whole mess is mostly your fault! I didn't even _want_ to kiss you at Slughorn's party! You basically attacked me with your lips under the bloody mistletoe! And, might I add, you're the worst snog I've ever had in my entire life! I bet the giant squid would be better. In fact, I know it would. So you can get the hell out of my office because if it weren't for you and your giant bloody mouth, I wouldn't have to deal with people looking at me as if I've just been dumped." I physically push him out of my office. I can see that all of my coworkers are staring since I was shouting very loudly apparently.

Somehow, McLaggen still has the nerve to ask, "So that's a no on that drink?"

I am astounded by his stupidity and can't even think of a response. So instead I just whip out my wand and bat bogey hex him and slam the door as I storm back into my office.

Within five minutes, there's a knock on my door, and my boss, Albie Winterbutton, comes in without waiting for a response. I throw down my quill I have been writing with furiously and look up to see a scared look on his face. I've only seen that expression on Ron's face when he's afraid I'll yell at him after we've had a row. I instantly feel terrible for exploding at work. But I don't feel bad that it was at McLaggen.

"Erm, excuse me, Miss Granger. It's come to my attention that you might be under a bit of stress this morning."

"I'm sorry Mr. Winterbutton, I really didn't mean for that to happen. McLaggen and I have just never really gotten along."

"Yes, well I'm sorry I made you work with him on this project. Nonetheless, I think it would be in the interest of yourself and everyone else's safety if you took the rest of the week off."

"Oh no, I'm fine. I promise it won't happen again."

"Perhaps you misunderstood me, Miss Granger. You've been suspended for a week. It's Ministry policy that you can't use magic on colleagues during the work day."

"Seriously? He was being a complete git and he totally deserved it."

"I understand, but we still can't make exceptions to the rule. You can come in to work again next Monday."

"But, I need to be here this week, the Wizengamot votes on my house-elf law a week from tomorrow. I have to work on what I'm going to say and how to present it to them."

"I'm sorry, Miss Granger, but there's nothing I can do. Now would you mind leaving the office, or I'm going to have to ask security to escort you."

I begin to gather my things because the last thing I need right now is an Auror to come down here to escort me out and for that Auror to be Ron or Harry. Under my breath I mumble, "This is bloody brilliant."

"What was that, Miss Granger?" Mr. Winterbutton asks knowingly from my doorway.

"Nothing," I scowl angrily and go to leave work. For a whole week.

* * *

"I can't believe I was suspended," I groan as I rest my head in my arms on the kitchen table. "I've never so much as had a detention. Well when Harry and Ron weren't involved at least."

Ginny laughs, "It's not the end of the world, Hermione." She sets my dinner down in front of me. I look up to see the meal she's cooked, well the leftovers from dinner with her family yesterday that she heated up. I pick up my fork and poke at it a bit with no actual interest in eating. "I thought you were the one who was supposed to make sure I'm eating," she points out teasingly, already almost a quarter done with her food.

"I'm not hungry," I whine.

"Only Hermione Granger would be upset about having to take a week off from work."

"It's not like a vacation. I was suspended. _Suspended_, Ginny. That kind of thing goes on your record."

"Whatever. That toerag deserved it. You should've let me hex him if you wanted to do some real damage, though."

"The bat bogey hex was always your specialty," I concede.

There's a knock at the door and Ginny gets up to answer it. "If it's Ron and Harry, don't let them in. I don't feel like being mocked endlessly at the moment."

Soon enough I hear multiple sets of feet returning to the kitchen.

"Too late," Ginny apologizes perkily. Clearly she's excited that for once I am the one who has gotten in trouble.

"Well if it isn't Miss Suspended-From-Work-Granger," Ron gloats as he stands behind me and begins to rub my shoulders. "Who would have thought that the former Head Girl would be in such a pickle?"

"Very funny, Ron," I grumble. "Let's see how long that attitude keeps you engaged."

I hear Ron gulp in response and Harry laughs at his uneasiness.

"Really though, Hermione," Harry cuts in, "How did you manage to get suspended from work?"

"I bat bogey hexed McLaggen. I completely forgot we can't use magic on Ministry employees while at the Ministry." All three of my so-called friends laugh at my obvious discomfort. "He was asking for it, though! He asked me on a date as if Ron and I aren't even engaged."

That shuts Ron up quickly, then he says, "I'm going to kill him." He goes to the leave the kitchen as if he's actually going to kill McLaggen, but Harry steps in his way and pushes him back.

"Hang on there, mate. That would just get _you _suspended."

"Not to mention thrown in Azkaban," Ginny points out. "And I really can't have the best man for my wedding be in prison. That would just ruin the mood."

Harry guides Ron to sit down at the table in the seat next to mine. I look into his eyes and see the anger and hurt stirring there, so I grab his massive hand with both of mine and rub his palm soothingly.

"Don't worry, Ron. I've made an appointment at the _Daily Prophet_ tomorrow. I'm going to demand a retraction and tell the editor about Rita's pesky little problem."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Ron offers.

"Oh no, I'll be fine. Besides someone has to make money this week if we are going to pay for a wedding," I smile weakly, fighting off the butterflies that stir once again at the mention of our impending nuptials. He smiles back at me and the butterflies turn into the happy ones I get when Ron looks at me like that.

"Well how about some dinner before these two start going at it on the kitchen table," Ginny ruins the moment as she sets two more plates of leftovers in front of Ron and Harry.

* * *

The next day I've dressed myself in some of my best work robes and tried to tame my hair as best I can. I am meeting with Barnabas Cuffe after lunch at the Diagon Alley offices of the _Daily Prophet_. He's somehow managed to remain editor even after all of the lies he published during the war, which is probably why Rita Skeeter is still allowed to write. I've assembled a folder of old clippings of her blasphemous stories as well as a contract I made her sign in which she agreed to never write another such article or risk being revealed as an unregistered animagus. I may have written it at age sixteen, but I can say with certainty it would hold up in any legal court, wizard or muggle.

I arrive at the office and am greeted by Padma Patil, who works as the receptionist.

"Hermione! How lovely to see you! Dreadful what they're saying about you and Ron."

"Yes well, the _Prophet_ wrote it, so you can't really be too upset by it now can you?"

I may have been a bit short, but I am just too angry to really care. Besides, she went to the Yule Ball with Ron. I'm slightly petty; sue me if you have a problem with it.

"Erm, Mr. Cuffe still isn't back from lunch. He was just at the Leaky Cauldron and should be back shortly. Feel free to take a seat and wait."

Without a word of response, just a curt nod, I do as I'm told and begin to peruse today's issue of the _Prophet_ which contains a lengthy article speculating the events of Harry and Ginny's wedding written by none other than Padma Patil. When I notice that she is the author, I begin to feel even more agitated, but as I read the article, I see that it is actually quite nice. She simply states the likely events of the day and includes wishes of a successful marriage for the couple. Why couldn't she have written the announcement of my engagement to Ron?

"Congratulations on this by the way," I say holding up the front page of the paper where her story sits above the fold. "It's very tasteful and well written. The _Prophet_ should hire more writers like you."

"Thanks," she responds timidly as the bell on the door tinkles, indicating that Cuffe has returned from his lunch break.

"Ah, Miss Granger. Do follow me to my office."

Once we are situated in his office I start right in on my demands, "I want a retraction of that filth you published about Ron and me."

"Now why would you want that?"

"Well, the whole thing was full of lies. Except for the part that said we're engaged."

"Yes, congratulations! I hope you'll consider us for exclusive coverage of your wedding!"

"Why would I want anyone to cover my wedding? It's no one's business but Ron's and mine. Anyways, I've compiled a file of articles with false statements written by Rita Skeeter published by this paper," I say tensely, pushing the folder towards him as he places his reading glasses on his nose. "You'll also find in there a statement from Rita Skeeter in which she admits to being an illegal animagus as well as her agreement to only write truthful stories in order to never be revealed to the Ministry."

Cuffe falls silent for several minutes as he reads the documents I've presented to him. When he finally speaks, he starts and stops a few times, attempting to find words, before finally settling on, "I'm very sorry for any inconvenience Ms. Skeeter and the _Prophet_ may have caused you, Miss Granger. I will of course retract the story and present this information to the Ministry if that is what you desire."

"Oh that would be lovely," I smile and get up to leave. "And if you would like to publish anything about either Harry, Ron, Ginny, or me, I suggest you have Padma write it. She seems to be the only writer at this paper with any shred of dignity and respect."

With that, I storm out of his office before he can even formulate a response.

* * *

The _Evening Prophet_ that night contains a front page story written by none other than Padma Patil retracting Rita Skeeter's story and outlining the truth about the engagement. She gives a background of our relationship, only writing the facts known to the public, not petty rumors from our Hogwarts days. Maybe I shouldn't have been so mean to her this afternoon.

I set down the glass of wine I'm drinking as I read the paper and wait for the cupcakes I'm baking to finish cooking when I feel an arm snake around my waist. I jump a bit with surprise then relax when I hear Ron's voice.

"Hi," he greets me, kissing the spot just behind my ear that sets the butterflies in my stomach in a happy flutter.

"I didn't hear you come in," I say, my voice still shaky from the fright he gave me.

"You know how you get when you read," he teases me and tickles my side as he moves to sit next to me at the table.

"Have you seen this?" I gesture to the paper.

"Yeah. Awfully nice of Padma. I always thought she hated me after the Yule Ball."

"How could anyone hate you?" I ask rhetorically as I lean in to kiss him briefly before the timer on the oven dings and I have to get up to get the pumpkin cupcakes I've prepared for Ron's visit.

After we've settled onto the couch and we are eating our cupcakes that I've frosted, I pick up one of the books I purchased at Flourish and Blotts almost two weeks ago. I begin to read as Ron eats his cupcakes and watches me. This may seem weird or creepy, but he claims he's always enjoyed watching me read. As long as he doesn't bother me while I'm trying to read, I don't even notice that he's watching me. However, tonight he can't seem to resist tickling my feet, which are laying his lap.

"Ronald, stop that!" I exclaim, trying to resist laughter since my feet are the most ticklish part of my body.

"Sorry. Couldn't resist," he explains and we resume our activities of moments before. Then he does it again.

This time, I ask, "Do you want something, Ron?"

"No," he answers quickly. Then jumps back in, "Yes."

I dog-ear the page I'm on and close the book, setting it on the coffee table. "Okay then, what do you want to talk about?"

"Me. Well, me moving. Me moving in with you."

I have got to stop making these cupcakes. They only bring on deep conversations about our relationship.

"Okay," I trail off. "We can talk about that."

"It's just, I've been trying to find a place to move after Ginny moves in with Harry, but it just doesn't make sense to sign a lease on a place when I may not even be there very long."

"I guess that's true."

"And I mean, with us getting married sometime in the near future, I think it would make sense if I moved in with you. If that's what you want."

What he's said is rational and logically makes sense. I can't deny I like having him around, I mean that's the point of getting married. Maybe moving in together will make the butterflies stop being to fluttery every time anyone says marriage within fifty feet of me. So I say, "Of course that's what I want Ron."

And with that it's decided: Ron will move in with me here when Ginny moves into Grimmauld Place with Harry after their wedding.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I hope you're all still liking the story! School is starting to get hectic, so updates will start becoming much less frequent. I have a few chapters saved up, but I'm going to try to space them out so they reach my break in October when I'll have time to write again.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter...or Buffy.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

The rest of the week is quite dull. Ron visits everyday after work. Harry comes over for dinner a few times, as well. Ginny and I finally get around to watching season two of "Buffy". Needless to say, I'm itching to get back to work on Monday. So when I walk into my office and see a large bouquet of pink, orange, and yellow gerbera daisies, I'm quite pleased. I go to pick up the card and feel my smile quickly turn into a grimace of disgust. The card reads:

To Hermione-

I apologize for my behavior last week. Perhaps you're in a better mood now that the break up is less fresh. Drinks tonight? You know you want to ;)

-Cormac

He actually drew a winky face. I cannot believe the nerve this man has. I crumple up the card and _incendio_ it and _scourgify_ the ash pile that lands on my desk. Then I vanish the flowers as quickly as possible so I don't have to look at the offending blossoms any longer.

By lunch my mood has brightened significantly, so I'm practically skipping when I go to meet Ron and Harry in the Ministry cafeteria. Lunch is practically the only time that it's just Ron, Harry, and me like it used to be at Hogwarts. Not that I don't love Ginny, I do. She's my best friend that is a girl, but it's nice to be able to hang out with the first real friends I ever had.

"Hermione!" I hear Ron before I see him waving me to a table in the corner of the cafeteria.

"Hello, boys! How was your morning?" I ask chipperly.

"Not as good as yours apparently," Harry says with a smirk.

"Well I did receive flowers from Cormac with an 'apology,'" I put air quotes around this since his card could hardly be considered an apology. "Oh, and he asked me out again."

"That's it," Ron slams his pumpkin juice down and goes to get up but Harry pushes him back into his seat.

"Relax, Ron. I've decided to take the high road and ignore him. I can be quite good at that when I want to be," I explain.

"A little too good if I remember correctly," Ron grumbles. I kick him under the table for being rude. "Um, ow!"

"You deserved it," I defend myself. "So you're morning wasn't so good?" I ask, getting back to Harry's earlier comment.

"No. There seems to be a resistant group of Death Eaters that's planning something," Harry offers. They really aren't supposed to share this information with me, but being "The Golden Trio", the Ministry makes allowances for us.

"Which ones this time? Anyone I'd recognize?"

"No," Ron responds. "Just some 'copycat' Death Eaters. Trenton Blackwell, Henrietta Storms, and Wilson Alves. They were at Hogwarts with Percy. They have a few followers, too. Our inside source tells us that they think Voldemort's body is still around and they can reanimate it."

"But the Order destroyed his body after the battle," I interject.

"Exactly," Harry agrees. "That's why we have been leading them on a wild goose chase around Europe. Our source has been planting false tips about where the body might be located."

"They're getting restless, though," Ron cuts in. "Apparently they're planning an attack on a muggle village in Spain."

"Why Spain?" I ask.

"That's the last place Voldemort's body was 'rumored' to be," Harry explains using my air quotes from earlier. "The Ministry wants Ron and me to head out there tomorrow to put a stop to things before they can start."

I feel my stomach twist anxiously. "These copycats aren't really dangerous are they?"

"We don't think so," Ron says hesitantly. "They were in Percy's year at school. He says the only O.W.L.s they got were in Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures and they dropped out of Hogwarts after their fifth year, so we don't think they can do any real damage."

"Still, that dragon did escape from Charlie's camp in Romania," Harry interrupts. "The Ministry doesn't want to take the chance that they've captured it and are planning to let it loose on a village of muggles."

"How do you not know if they have a dragon? It's not like a dragon is easy to hide," I question exasperatedly.

"Our insider is doing the best he can, but these guys don't trust him with everything. Besides, they're quite good with magical creatures. Maybe they know how to shrink a dragon into an itty bitty pocket sized dragon so they can carry it around."

I roll my eyes at Ron's hypothesis. "Oh please, Ronald. That would be nearly impossible."

"You never know. It could happen."

"So you two are about to go traipsing off to Spain in search of a group of copycat Death Eaters whose pockets have all been burned up by a shrunken dragon?" I ask, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Sounds about right," Ron smiles.

"Oh, Ginny is going to love this," I exclaim. Both boys swallow visibly at the mention of telling Ginny.

* * *

The rest of the day is full of sending notes to members of the Wizengamont with information about my house-elf rights law. The vote is tomorrow and with the _Daily Prophet _fiasco from last week, I really need to make a good impression and seem as level headed and deserving of their votes as possible. I finally get out of my office at seven after putting the finishing touches on my speech.

When I get home, Ginny is sitting at the kitchen table across from Harry, staring into a cup of tea as if it holds the answers to everything in life. He must have told her about tomorrow.

I tentatively step into the kitchen and begin to fix myself some dinner after a brief "Hello".

Ginny looks up from her tea when she hears the cabinets opening and closing. She stares for a moment and gives a delayed, "Oh, hi," in response.

"So I'm assuming you know about Spain?" I inquire sympathetically.

Harry clears his throat and Ginny almost whispers, "Yeah."

"Well, why don't we watch season three of 'Buffy' tomorrow night? That'll cheer you up. We can have ourselves a girls' night. I'm sure going to need it after the vote and everything."

"How would that cheer me up? The season two finale was beyond depressing. I mean Angel… A-A-Angel," she trails off as she begins sobbing. I realize she's made the connection between Angel "dying" and Harry leaving on his trip into the unknown tomorrow. If only she knew that season three fixes all of that. But then it destroys all hope of ever being happy again. We can get to that when we get to it, though.

"Oh, Ginny," Harry rushes around the table to kneel before her and pull her into a hug. He strokes her hair and whispers soothing words to her until she calms down. "Do you want me to stay? I'm sure Ron can handle it without me."

At the mention of Ron going on a solo mission, I lose focus on levitating my plate and glass of water to the table and everything falls to the ground in a loud crash. "Oh, bugger. I'm sorry," I apologize as I _reparo_ the plate and glass and _scourgify_ the floor. I've been using that spell a lot today. So much for dinner.

"No," Ginny finally responds to Harry after what feels like an eternity. "I wouldn't want my dumb brother going into the field alone. I just don't understand why the Ministry always has to pick you two."

"Well, I _am_ the Chosen One," Harry jokes with a twinkle, faking conceit. This gets him a smack on the arm from Ginny, a move she must have picked up from me, but at least she smiles while she does it.

"Smartass," she rolls her eyes and Harry laughs. "How about we order a pizza? Hermione's ruined her dinner and I'm still starving from practice today. You can pay, Mr. Rolling-In-Galleons," Ginny pokes Harry and gets up to pick up the phone I taught her to use so she can order pizza from our favorite Muggle place. She walks into the den, leaving Harry and me alone in the kitchen.

"You wouldn't really make Ron go to Span alone, would you?" I feel stupid asking. Harry would never put any of us in harm's way, but I know he has a soft spot when it comes to making Ginny happy ever since the war ended.

"Of course not," he looks taken aback that I'd even ask such a question. "Ron's practically my brother. I'd never make him go face Death Eaters alone. Real or fake."

"Good," I sigh, relief flooding every part of my body. Ginny walks back in and hangs the phone back up.

"The food will be here in twenty minutes. I ordered double so go ahead and invite Ron, Hermione. I know he'd feel left out if we got pizza without him."

"He most certainly would."

"Now Miss Granger, why do house elves even need one day off every month? It is my understanding that they 'live to serve'?" Calvin Finster, the new leader of the Wizengamot, inquires. One useful piece of information I've pulled from my meeting with Cormac is that he is the most traditional wizard on the panel. His family is pure-blood and probably has a house-elf for every two Finsters.

"This law does not require a family to give their elf time off. It simply mandates that if an elf requests time off, then their family must give him or her at least one day off per month."

"And what is the punishment for disobeying this law?" A witch with frizzy hair asks from behind Finster. Cormac told me her name, but nothing useful about her. She seemed to smile through my introductory speech, so I think she is going to be an easy one to crack.

With a smile, I respond, "The family will be fined the amount they would have to pay a human housekeeper for each day that they refuse to relieve their elf of his or her duties. The money would then be siphoned into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures' account that benefits abused magical creatures."

The frizzy-witch, as I've decided to call her in my head, nods and gives a polite "hmm" in response.

"I still don't understand why an elf would want time off," Finster declares loudly.

Frustrated, I reply, "Are you familiar with the story of Dobby the house-elf, Sir?" He does not respond, simply stares at me annoyed, as if he knows the story, and knows it will support my cause perfectly, but he refuses to agree with me. I continue my defense; "Dobby served the Malfoy family for quite a while. They were cruel to him, but he served them with as much dignity as a house-elf is can muster. Dobby longed to be free. He didn't want to serve a family so involved in the Dark Arts, so when the opportunity arose for him to protect Harry Potter, he took it.

"However, Dobby was not a free elf, so he had to punish himself for his actions. Until one day, Harry Potter managed to make Lucius Malfoy give Dobby a sock. Dobby was free. He went on to help Harry Potter numerous times. He even saved Harry's, Ron's, and my life when we were captured and brought to Malfoy Manor during the war and gave his own in the process. Dobby had a fierce loyalty to those he trusted even as a free elf. He trusted those that were kind to him.

"If you had the opportunity to by kind to your house-elf, wouldn't you take it? He or she would likely feel more loyal to you and your family. You may not care about giving your elf time off, Mr. Finster, but I can guarantee that a good servant like Dobby would have been forever grateful for just one day of freedom each month."

I finish my story, and a silence falls over the room. Finster stares angrily at me while his colleagues begin to murmur excitedly around him.

Frizzy-witch is the first to address the room, "Well I think we are ready for a vote! All in favor?" Literally the whole Wizengamot raises their hands. They all stare at Finster who is caught in a glaring match with me. When he feels the eyes of everyone else on the panel bearing into him and realizes I'm not backing down, he dejectedly raises his hand.

I can't believe it. The vote is unanimous. I never thought it would be this well received. I begin to smile brightly as frizzy-witch raises her voice over the excited murmuring once more to announce, "The motion is passed. Dobby's Law as put forth by Miss Hermione Granger will take effect immediately."

"Court dismissed for a brief recess before our next meeting," Finster grumbles.

I skip happily out of the courtroom where an interoffice memo nearly hits me in the eye. I'm startled and it takes me a moment to get my bearings and open the now dented paper airplane. I unfold it and read the message I was really hoping I wouldn't receive ever again:

"The copycats had the dragon. They're launching an attack. We need you. Portkey at 4:00 PM at the Ministry. –Ron"

I look at my watch, see that it's already 3:30, and begin to run.

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked it! I figured I should post today since it's Hermione's birthday after all :) Let me know what you think!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!

* * *

**Chapter 10**

I slide into my office and dump the contents of my briefcase on my desk. I start rummaging through my drawers when I realize what I'm looking for is not there. I grab my wand and begin to run again until I've reached the apparation point in the Ministry lobby. I apparate right outside my apartment door, not caring if a muggle sees me in the hallway. I practically break down the door to our flat and run to my room, summoning my purple beaded bag as I go. In my haste, I completely miss the fact that Ginny is following me down the hall to m room.

"Woah, Hermione! What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing. I just finished early with the trial and thought it would be fun to go and join Harry and Ron as they try to take down a dragon and a dozen copycat Death Eaters. It sounded like a great way to celebrate."

"You're kidding right? You can't go!"

"Ginny, I have to go. Aren't you supposed to be at Quidditch practice?" I ask, trying to get her off my back as I summon anything I can think of that might be useful and shove it into my bag.

"It got out early if you must know. Stop trying to change the subject. If you're going to help them, then I'm coming with you. I've had enough of you three running off without me and leaving me behind. This was supposed to be a harmless mission and now they're calling you in for backup. You're not even an Auror!"

"Don't you think I know that?" I feel panicked now as I glance at my watch again and see that it's already 3:47. "Look, Ginny, I have to catch a portkey back at the Ministry at 4. I'd really appreciate it if you'd get out of my way and let me do this."

"No!" She exclaims as she catches the bottle of Dittany I've just summoned before it can even reach me. Darn her Quidditch reflexes. I try to grab it from her but she's tall enough that she can hold it pretty high out of my reach.

"Don't make me _petrificus totalis_ you! I'm not afraid to use it on a friend."

"Yes, I know that, but I can't let you go without me."

We have a staring match for a moment until I finally decide, "Fine. I'll go without the Dittany." I close my bag and go to leave the apartment. I apparate back to the Ministry and hear a pop right behind me, so I know she's followed me. I just hope I can make it to the portkey in time and it can leave before she catches up. I sprint to the designated International Portkey Departure location on the fourth floor, forgoing the elevators in hopes of evading the constant stopping and starting. Unfortunately, Ginny is in excellent shape because of Quidditch and has caught up to me.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily, Granger," she mocks without even sounding out of breath as we run.

I take a glance at my watch again and see that it's now 3:58. I still have two floors to go. I really don't have time to argue so I cave in.

"Fine, Ginny. You can come."

"Yes!" She shouts and throws her hands in the air, not missing a step as we make our way to the fourth floor entrance. She follows me down the hall to the tiny office that houses our departure point and we make it into the room with one minute to spare.

"Cutting it a little close there, Miss Granger," Tim, the portkey director chastises me.

"Yeah, I know," I pant, clutching the stitch in my side as I notice Ginny's absolute lack of exhaustion over just running four flights of stairs and then some.

"This portkey's only meant for one," he points out, indicating the broken pocket watch sitting on the table in the middle of the room.

"Well, it's going to have to work for two," Ginny says matter-of-factly as we both grab the watch and feel the uncomfortable sensation of being hooked by the navel as the portkey leaves at exactly 4:00.

Soon enough we land in a muggle village somewhere in Spain. If it weren't for the screeching dragon I can hear in the distance and the smell of burning rubble, I would be able to really appreciate the beautiful town where I've just arrived.

"What did you bring my sister for?!" I swivel around to see Ron shout at me as he approaches from behind a tipped vegetable cart.

Next thing I know, Harry's head pops up from behind the same cart as he asks, "Ginny?" Shock, anger, and frustration pass across his face as he rushes towards us and pulls us down an alley out of the view of distressed muggles running every which way.

"I didn't bring her," I correct them. "She all but hijacked the portkey! Don't blame me for this!"

"Don't you all have a dragon and some Death Eaters to catch instead of arguing about whose fault it is that I'm here?" Ginny cuts in. "It's a miracle you three were able to defeat Voldemort in the first place with the amount you argue!"

"Shut up, Ginny! No one invited you," Ron scolds his sister.

"Ronald, Ginny is right. We don't have time for arguing. Where is this dragon?" I try to get us back on track.

"About three blocks from here. We had to relocate so we could greet you when you arrived."

"Well, what's the plan?" Ginny asks.

"We get the dragon out of here. Duh," Run points out as if Ginny has just asked the stupidest question in the world.

"We know that," I say angrily. "How are we going to 'get the dragon out of here', though?"

"We were hoping you'd have a plan for that one," Harry allows, scratching the back of his head and looking at the ground, effectively messing up his hair even further if that's possible.

"Honestly, can you two do anything for yourselves?" I ask rhetorically. I see that Ron is actually about to answer so I hold up my hand and exclaim, "Don't answer that! Well, I have Harry's old Firebolt in my bag."

I begin searching the contents of my bag for the old racing broom. When Ginny gave Harry the new Firebolt 3 for his birthday last year, he started storing his original Firebolt at our flat in case of emergencies.

"Are you suggesting we reenact the first task of the Triwizard Tournament?" Harry questions skeptically.

"No I'm suggesting _you_ reenact the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. Ron, Ginny, and I will hunt down the Death Eaters and get them out of here."

Ginny looks conflicted by my plan since she clearly doesn't want Harry to go off on his own. So I amend my plan, "Unless you and Ginny can both fit on that broom and then Ron and I will hunt down the Death Eaters."

She brightens up at my suggestion and explains, "Actually, Hermione, I may or may not have stashed one of my old brooms in that bag of yours as well. We don't have to share!"

"You've got to be kidding me! How many times do I have to tell you people not to touch my stuff!"

"Not the time Hermione," Harry scolds me, summoning Ginny's broom from within my bag. He mounts his Firebolt after handing her the old Nimbus 2007 that was a gift from the Harpies. "Gin, you follow my lead."

"Yes, sir!" She performs a mock salute as she gets on her own broom.

Harry rolls his eyes at his fiancée and they're in the air and flying off into the distance within seconds.

"So what do we do?" Ron asks.

"You're the Auror. Shouldn't you have a plan for this kind of thing?"

"Well, yeah. But you're Hermione. You always take the lead."

We stare at each other for a few seconds before I break the silence.

"Where's the last place they were located?"

"In a cave in those mountains over there."

"Then we have to get there. How close can we apparate?"

"To the foot of the mountain the cave is in. It shouldn't be more than a four minute walk from there."

We stand there for a minute before I point out, "Well, I don't know which mountain it is, so you'll have side-along apparate me there."

"Right," Ron says and grabs my arm. After the familiar twisting sensation, we are at the bottom of a mountain and Ron leads the way up a trail to the cave. We walk in silence for a moment until Ron says, "You shouldn't have brought Ginny."

"Really, Ron, now is not the time."

"I'm just saying, she's my sister. She doesn't need to be here. She'll just distract Harry."

"Oh and I won't distract you?"

"That's different."

"Just be quiet, Ron. We don't want to alert them of our presence."

He can sense my annoyance with him, so he doesn't say anything back to try to defend his earlier comment and takes my advice to walk in silence. We reach the mouth of the cave and duck in some bushes next to the opening as quietly as possible. From this position, we can hear Alves, Blackwell, and Storms laughing manically.

"Those muggles never saw it coming," a high-pitched feminine voice shrieks through peals of laughter. That must be Storms.

"Idiots don't even know what a dragon is, much less a Hungarian Horntail. They probably think there's a forest fire and some overgrown lizard."

"Well, now that they're distracted, we should be able to get in and recover the Dark Lord's body," a second male voice rumbles form within the cave.

"It's just downright rude that the Ministry would put his body in a muggle city hall," Storms complains. "There are so many Mudbloods working there now, they probably thought they were getting justice."

I feel my skin crawl at her language. She is reminding me more and more of Bellatrix Lestrange.

Male voice number one exclaims, "Then let's go get him!"

All three cheer in agreement and excitement at this suggestion. We can hear a commotion inside as three sets of feet approach the mouth of the cave. Ron and I stand from the crouching position we took in the bushes and get ready for the attack. As the trio runs out of the cave, they don't notice that we have our wands pointed right at them. I perform I tripping jinx on the larger of the two men. On his way to the ground, he bumps Storms who also stumbles.

"Watch it, Alves!" She turns to see what is wrong with her cohort, which is when she seems Ron and me with our wands pointed at her and Blackwell respectively.

"Well, look who it is," Blackwell drawls as he turns, pulling out his wand. "If it isn't Harry Potter's minions. Where's your friend? Did our dragon take him out?"

This is when we hear the shrieking of dragon. It doesn't sound like a triumphant shriek.

"Sounds like it's the other way around," Ron gloats.

"Shut your mouth, Weasley, you blood traitor!" Storms screeches. She makes a slashing motion with her wand that looks an awful lot like a poor attempt at _sectumsempra_, but Ron deflects it with a shield charm at the last second. I can feel my heart is racing a mile a minute.

"I'd rather be a blood traitor than an idiot," Ron taunts.

I grab his arm and point out as quietly as possible, "Don't provoke them, Ron."

"Who are you calling an idiot?" Blackwell asks, brushing the dirt off of his pants as he stands up. "And what's your Mudblood girlfriend whispering to you?"

"Don't call her a Mudblood. And she's not my girlfriend," Ron bites back angrily as he casts a stunning spell at Blackwell. He falls to the ground and Ron says triumphantly, "She's my fiancée."

"Oh how corny," Storms sniggers. "What is this? Some muggle movie?"

"For someone who hates muggles. You sure know a lot about them," I point out.

"How dare you speak to me you filthy Mudblood!"

"Do I really have to say it twice," Ron starts exasperatedly.

I cut him off frustratedly, "Don't call me a Mudblood!" I aim my wand at her and _stupefy_ her nonverbally. It's becoming clear that these three didn't pass their Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.

In the commotion, we've missed the fact that Alves has revived Blackwell who is stirring once again.

"Are we going to fight or what?" Alves asks agitatedly.

"I thought you'd never ask," Ron responds confidently.

Alves sends a jinx I don't recognize at Ron who blocks it with ease. Blackwell attempts to send a leg-locker curse at me when I'm busy watching Ron, but I notice before it can hit me and perform a shield charm. We send spells back and forth for a while, but it's not long before we've clearly defeated the inexperienced wizards.

Just as we are tying them together with an _incarcerous_ spell, I hear a twig snap behind me. Before I know it, Storms has sent a poorly aimed, not to mention poorly conjured, _sectumsempra_ at me which I don't have time to block with a shield charm. I throw my arms in front of my face and duck. The spell hits my right forearm, creating a long gash from my wrist to my elbow. Warm, sticky blood starts pouring out of the wound as Storms cackles. I try to hold the skin of my arm together over the wound with my left hand, but blood keeps pouring out.

Ron turns to see what has happened and his eyes nearly pop out of his head when he notices I'm bleeding. Fury passes across his face and he sends a final stunning spell at her. She hits her head on a rock as she falls to the ground, unconscious. I can see blood pouring out of her head and know that she has cracked her skull open. There is no way that she has survived.

I feel my head spinning from my own blood loss and sink to my knees, clutching at my arm. Ron rushes to me, ripping off the bottom of the sleeve of his robes. He falls besides me and wraps it around my arm.

"'Mione, I'm so sorry. I should have seen her. I shouldn't have asked you to come," He is frantically trying to keep the blood in my body, but it just insists on coming out.

My vision is blurring, and just as I feel I'm about to faint, I manage to say, "In my bag. There's Dittany." Before Ron can apply it to my wound, my head gives one last spin as the world goes black and I pass out.

* * *

A/N: Finally a new chapter! I'm hoping to have some time to write this week and stock up enough chapters to carry us through my winter break! Let me know what you think!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!

* * *

**Chapter 11**

I wake up in a dimly lit room in St. Mungo's. My arm is heavily bandaged and feels as if it has shriveled to the size of a raisin. I can feel Ron's hand entangled with my left, lying beside me on the bed. He is sitting in a chair next to my bed and his head rests on the edge. If he were to move an inch he would fall out of the chair and onto the floor. I want to let him sleep, but I decide to nudge him awake instead.

"Ron," I say gently. "Ron, wake up."

He slowly lifts his head and smiles at me dazedly. He lets out a groggy, "'Lo, Hermione. How are you feeling?"

"Tired," I admit. "I guess that can be a side effect of severe blood loss, though. What happened?"

"Well, Storms's poor spell casting kept the injury localized to your arm. The wound isn't too deep either. After you fainted from blood loss, I sent up the signal sparks so Harry would find me. He and Ginny came within minutes. They had just taken care of the dragon, so I handed Alves and Blackwell over to them and apparated you here."

"And what about Storms? Is she¾?"

"Dead? Yeah. She died instantly when her head hit the rock."

"Oh, Ron. I'm so sorry. It really isn't your fault she's dead." While Ron and I may have fought in the war and he has been an Auror for quite some time now, he has never killed someone either on purpose or indirectly.

"Hey, I'm not upset. I just wish I'd gotten her sooner so you wouldn't be here."

"Ron, I'm fine. Just a little scrape."

"Hermione," he says exasperatedly, "Your wand arm is severely injured. The Healers said your muscles in your forearm and parts of your upper arm were completely drained of blood. They said you could have serious difficulties in the future, like never regaining full motor control."

I tenderly pick up my right arm and reach for our intertwined hands. I rest my bandaged right hand on his, which is clutching my healthy one.

"As long as I can touch you, I don't really care about not regaining full mobility."

"Gross. Is all you two think about sex?" I hear Ginny's voice from the doorway. I look to see her and Harry entering the private room that the hospital has assigned to me. One of the perks of being part of the Golden Trio that I actually enjoy.

Ron turns red and grumbles, "We weren't talking about sex."

"Sure you weren't, but you were thinking about it," Harry winks as he sets down a large arrangement of lavender hydrangeas, my favorite flower. "These are from us, we hope you feel better soon."

"Mostly so that you can hold a bouquet at the wedding," Ginny explains half joking and half serious. "But also because we're good people."

I shake my head and laugh. "Thanks you guys. You didn't need to bring me flowers."

"Eh, it's the least we could do. Besides you'll need some brightening up in this place since you'll be here for a few days."

"Days!" I feel my eyes almost pop out at Harry's revelation. "_Days?!_ I can't be in here for days! Dobby's Law was just passed today and I have so much work to do!"

"Well, that was yesterday actually," Ginny points out.

"How long was I out for?! It's not like it was that bad of an injury!" I feel myself getting really angry now.

"You passed out yesterday around eight and it's nearly 5 o'clock now," Ron explains.

"In the morning I hope!" The dim light coming in from outside really could be from an early sunrise or sunset.

"No such luck," Harry answers apologetically. I groan in response.

"Hey, you have some serious recovery to do," Ron practically scolds me for my petulance. "They say you'll have to go through some physical therapy to make sure your arm is working before they'll let you go. Besides, the wound hasn't healed completely yet."

I cross my arms to the best of my ability and resolve to be as stubborn as possible when it comes to staying in this hospital. I have a sudden realization related to the reason I got in this mess in the first place. "Oh you two must be in a load of trouble at the Ministry."

Harry and Ron exchange a look before Harry explains, "Well because of our- erm- 'special' arrangement with Kingsley when it comes to you joining us on missions, we just have disciplinary review for the rest of the week."

Ron interjects, "But hey, it's got nothing on Snape's detentions!"

* * *

Soon enough, I realize stubbornness won't get me out any sooner, so I comply with their silly exercises to fix my arm. Both Ron and Harry were suspended for the remainder of the week as punishment for letting a 'civilian' get involved and injured in an Auror matter. Honestly they could've gotten in a lot more trouble had we not been who we are. They both spend a lot of time at the hospital helping with my recovery. Strangely it feels a lot like our days at Hogwarts, which were spent largely in the Hospital Wing. Luckily I am released from the hospital on Sunday morning.

"We don't have to go to my parent's house for dinner tonight if you don't feel up to it," Ron tells me as we walk up the stairs to my flat. "Mum's already given you a free pass on that one."

"No, I want to get back to normal. We have to go."

"But, Hermione, Mum's basically given us the go ahead to have some _alone_ time, which we haven't had in," he pauses to do some mental math, "eight days."

"Ronald," I shriek and smack his arm. "Would you let Harry talk to your sister like that?"

"Well, thankfully you're not my sister," he almost whispers as he bends down to give me a more passionate kiss than we've been able to have since I've been in the hospital. He's backed me up against the door to my flat and I can tell where this is going, so I push Ron away from me enough so that I can get my wand out and unlock the door. His arms are still around my waist and he's peppering my neck with kisses when I push open the door to see Harry and Ginny standing in the entryway under a sign that says "Welcome Home!"

However, Ron doesn't notice his younger sister and best friend staring at us with the telltale "deer in headlights" look, so I try to extricate myself from Ron and say, "Ron. Ron! Stop. We have company."

"Huh?" Is his eloquent response, but then he looks up to finally see Harry and Ginny and says even more verbosely, "Oh. The cock block brigade."

"Good to see you, too, mate," Harry addresses Ron.

"So I'm assuming you're all better now, Hermione?" Ginny questions with a devilish grin. I feel my cheeks begin to blush.

"The healer says I should make a full recovery provided I do the proper stretches daily."

"Oh and is Ron going to help you with those?" Harry elbows Ginny in the side when he notices how her interrogation is making me squirm. I throw him a thankful look before Ginny smacks the side of his head, much like Mrs. Weasley would do to her children if they were misbehaving.

While Harry rubs the sore spot on his head, I gesture to the banner and say, "Thank you two for this. You didn't have to do anything."

"Hey, we might not be here now if you hadn't come to the rescue," Harry points out. "It was the least we could do. There's also butterbeer and fudge brownie ice cream in the kitchen. We know they're your favorites."

"Really, thank you so much."

Ginny nods and asks, "Are you guys coming to dinner tonight?"

"That's what we were just debating," Ron grouches.

I roll my eyes and say, "I'm feeling perfectly fine so I see no reason not to go." I direct the last remark at Ron with a pointed glare.

* * *

Later, we're all seated in the dining room and the Burrow and Bill is going around the table filling everyone's wine. He reaches the end of the table where Percy and Audrey are seated when it happens. He goes to pour her a glass and she refuses, which never happens at a Weasley dinner. Mrs. Weasley's head shoots up as if she's a hunting dog that's caught onto a scent.

"You're pregnant!" She shouts from the other end of the table and jumps out of her seat to run to the couple.

Audrey looks utterly shocked and stutters, "What? How? How did you know?"

"Oh don't be silly, girl. I always know these things!" Mrs. Weasley waves her off as she hugs Audrey so tightly she's probably at risk of squashing the baby. It's true though; Mrs. Weasley has a sixth sense for knowing when someone is pregnant. It happened both times with Fleur. She knew when Fleur was pregnant with Victoire almost a week into it and then only two days with Dominique. Fleur didn't even know either time. Maybe it's just because she was pregnant so many times, but I wouldn't be surprised if she actually has a sixth sense.

Since Audrey has practically confirmed that she's pregnant, everyone at the table is celebrating. It's quite a while before everyone has settled back down to eat. The atmosphere is joyful with talk of babies. We discover the due date is in March, which is surprising since that would mean Mrs. Weasley had no clue Audrey was pregnant for about a month. George takes it upon himself to point this out.

"Mum, I think you're slipping. A whole month? You told Bill and Fleur they were going to have a baby practically before they'd even done the nasty."

"What's the nasty?" Victoire innocently asks Fleur who instantly becomes flustered and starts speaking nonsense in French. Victoire turns to Bill and asks the same question.

"Thanks for this, George."

"Oh, anytime, brother!"

"Really, George. You must learn to control yourself around the children, especially since there are about to be even more!" Mrs. Weasley reprimands her son.

Dinner resumes without Bill having to explain where babies come from to his three-year-old daughter since Ginny's distracted her by making different colored sparks come out of her wand. Soon enough dinner is over and Mrs. Weasley is rationing out the leftovers for us all. Ron, Harry, Ginny, and I are playing Quidditch in the Orchard with George and Angelina when Mrs. Weasley calls us all back to the house to collect our food. We say our goodbyes and head for the apparation point.

"So I'll be staying at Grimmauld Place tonight so you can get, erm, re-acclimated to being at home without me getting in your way," Ginny explains awkwardly.

"You don't have to do that I'm perfectly fine having you at our place," I say, confused by her reasoning. Harry clears his throat and I look over at him to see him nodding towards Ron who is looking anywhere but at the three of us. I can see the tips of his ears are clearly burning red, and our conversation from earlier today rushes back to me. "Oh, uh, thanks, Gin. I guess some time alone in the apartment would be nice. Ron will you apparate back with me?"

He finally acknowledges the conversation that we've just had and his head snaps to attention when he responds with a smile, "Yeah of course."

We say goodbye to Harry and Ginny and apparate outside my building. We walk in awkward silence up to my flat, neither of us really knowing what to say since we both know why Ginny really isn't coming home tonight.

"You know if you wanted alone time with me you could've just said so," I point out in an attempt to break the ice.

"I did say so. Before dinner," Ron defends himself.

"Well yes, but it seemed more like an excuse to get out of dinner with your family than asking for alone time."

"So now I need to extend a formal invitation to my fiancée when I want to have some privacy with her for more than five minutes?"

"That's not what I meant, Ronald." I'm getting annoyed now. I didn't want this to turn into a fight.

Ron lets out a breath and seems to relax. "I know," he says. "I was just worried about you all week. You wouldn't have even been in the hospital if I hadn't told Harry we needed you on our mission. I just didn't get the chance to show you how much I love you and how thankful I am that something worse didn't happen to you since we were constantly being interrupted in the hospital."

We've reached my door now, and I can feel my heart beat pick up as I perform the unlocking charms. "You know that I know that you love me, Ron. I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me."

He pulls me against him in the entryway after the door has closed and whispers into my hair, "Hermione, I haven't stopped worrying about you since first year when that troll almost killed you."

"And I haven't stopped worrying about you since I met you on the Hogwarts Express and realized you could be careless enough to walk around with dirt on your nose all day."

He tickles my side and says sarcastically, "Very funny."

We stand like this in the hallway for what seems like ages. Eventually, we make our way to the bedroom where Ron finally gets the chance to show me how thankful he is that I'm alive.

* * *

A/N: So I think I have enough chapters to post about every two weeks until my Christmas begins. I could post them all now, but then you'd have a long wait until there's anything new. I hope you're enjoying the story! Thanks for all of the great feedback!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!

* * *

**Chapter 12**

"You're not really suggesting we take Harry to muggle carnival for his birthday, are you, Hermione?" Ron whines the next morning over breakfast.

"He never got to have birthday parties as a child when he was with the Dursleys. I think it would be nice if we all did something that muggle children do for their birthday parties."

"Yeah, I guess," Ron concedes. "But won't we look kind of dumb? A bunch of adult wizards and witches at a muggle carnival?"

"Harry may be turning 23, but that doesn't mean he doesn't still like to have fun. I mean look at you," I point at Ron and he looks offended. "You're 23 and you still read Quidditch magazines as if they hold all of the answers to life."

"That's because they do," Ron half-jokes.

"Well the carnival is just one town over form where my parents live. I'll run the plan by Ginny and hopefully we can go on Thursday for Harry's birthday."

"Why wouldn't we be able to go on his actual birthday?"

I give Ron an annoyed look. He's doing that thing where he pretends his sister and Harry are not in as intimate of a relationship as they are. I roll my eyes and respond, "Because Ginny may have already made other plans, you dummy."

"Oh my baby sister wouldn't make any 'other plans,'" he uses air quotes to mock me. "She's too sweet and innocent for that. And her older brothers would beat up her boyfriend if they found out about any 'other plans' that were made."

"Fiancé," I point out. "He's not her boyfriend; he's her fiancé. And I'd like to see you and your brothers beat up Harry. You'd probably rather break your own nose than Harry's, the way you're in love with each other."

"Oi! We are not in love. We're just really close friends."

"That's what I keep trying to tell myself," I sigh and feign jealousy. As I get up to clear our breakfast from the table, Ron pulls me into his lap and begins to kiss my neck.

"Hey, you know I'm in love with you and only you," he says, the joking air now gone for both of us.

"I know," I sigh for real this time. "You made that quite clear last night."

"Which time?" He asks with a smile.

I slap his arm and complain, "Now you've ruined the mood. Go get ready for work."

He groans and gets up to go take a shower. While I'm cleaning up the breakfast, I hear the front door open.

"Ginny?" I shout from my spot at the sink, not wanting to drip soap all over the floor. I still prefer washing dishes without magic since it reminds me of being a kid. I also find it oddly soothing.

"Who else would it be?"

"Let me see: Harry, your mother, your father, any of your brothers, a death eater. I could go on."

"Okay valid point Miss Know-it-all," she sighs, walking into the kitchen and taking a seat at the kitchen table where she can watch me dry the dishes.

"I am not a know it all! Would you guys stop calling me that?!"

"Of course you're not," she's patronizing me, but at least we can change the subject now.

"Why'd you come back this morning? I figured you'd go straight to practice from Harry's place."

"Oh, practice doesn't start until eleven and Harry had a meeting with the Minister at eight, so I came back here to bother you lot before you head to the Ministry and abandon me, too."

I roll my eyes, "Sometimes it's very obvious that you're the baby in your family."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asks offended.

"Nothing. Hey, do you have any plans for Harry's birthday?" I try to change the subject quickly.

She huffs at my apparent avoidance. "Not yet. I was just thinking I'd make him dinner and then we'd have some dessert if you know what I mean," she performs a dramatic wink which causes me to scoff.

"Well, when you say it like that of course I know what you mean. Ron and I were thinking the four of us could go to the muggle carnival near my parents' house. I'm sure it's something Harry never got to do as a child for his birthday, so I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate."

"Yeah sure. As long as Harry and I have time for dessert," she does her over the top wink again, "after we go."

"Yes, you'll have plenty of time to have sex with Harry, Ginny. Don't worry."

"Oi! Since when is my baby sister doing it with my best friend," Ron demands as he reenters the kitchen while doing the buttons on his sleeves. He comes to lean on the cabinets next to me while I put away the dishes. The fresh smell of soap is floating from his direction and if Ginny wasn't here right now, I don't think I'd be able to keep myself off of him. I give him a grumpy look and he returns a knowing smirk. He's doing this on purpose! He knows I can't resist a freshly showered and shaven Ron.

"Oh please, Ron. It's time to give up the overprotective older brother act. Especially since we all know that Harry and I have been having…"

"LALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Ron shouts and sticks his fingers in his ears, jumping up and down to drown out his sister.

"SEX SINCE SEVENTH YEAR!" Ginny attempts to shout over him. They continue shouting typical sibling grievances for a bit before I can't take it anymore.

I pick up my wand from the counter, wave it at them, and perform a nonverbal silencing charm. I shout, "Enough!" But in the sudden silence, I realize shouting really wasn't necessary.

They attempt to give excuses for their behavior at the same time, but the silencing charm is still in effect and I hear none of it.

"You two are siblings. Learn to get along. Ginny is to be married in less than three weeks, Ron. Maybe you should start treating her like an adult."

He attempts to protest, but still there's silence.

I hold up one finger to show I'm not finished yet. "Ginny, you need to respect that Ron is your brother and doesn't like to hear about your personal, intimate affairs with his best friend. Now, can you two agree to get along and act like mature adults, or do I still have to treat you like toddlers."

There's a moment's silence as they both seethe angrily and then nod in agreement.

"Okay then. I'm going to lift the silencing charm, but don't think I won't put it right back on you if you start shouting again."

I lift the charm and there's a moment of silence before they start bickering again but at least they aren't shouting. I roll my eyes and leave them to it so I can go shower and get ready for work.

* * *

There's a pile of papers on my desk about a foot tall when I get into my office an hour later. I sit down and pull a small stack in front of me to begin the paperwork that's collected over less than a week of being absent. There's a knock at my door and Mr. Winterbutton sticks his head in to see if I'm there.

"Hello, Mr. Winterbutton. Is there something I can help you with?" I ask, barely looking up from my stack of papers.

"Oh no! I just wanted to check and make sure everything is going smoothly. It seems like we haven't had you in the office for a while now."

"Maybe that's because I spent the better part of last week in the hospital and the week before that I was suspended."

"Oh yes. Well, that would explain that. I just wanted to congratulate you on the success of Dobby's Law. A unanimous vote is unheard of, especially ever since Finster became the leader of the Wizengamot. With this much success at such a young age, I'd say you're going places, Miss Granger."

Mr. Winterbutton reminds me a lot of Professor Flitwick except for the apparent discrepancy in height. I look up and see a genuine smile on his face, which I return. "Thank you, Mr. Winterbutton."

With a curt nod, he turns and leaves my office. I let out a sigh and tuck in to a long day of paperwork.

* * *

A/N: A little short, but it seemed like a good stopping point. Sorry this took a little longer than expected. I've been reviewing for my GRE subject test (which is this weekend) and haven't had time to proof read this again until right now. New chapter should be up in the next few weeks. Let me know what you think!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!

* * *

**Chapter 13**

I've finally caught up on my paperwork by Thursday, which means I'm free as a bird for Harry's birthday festivities. When I arrive home, I set my briefcase down and begin the task of decorating the flat. Ginny has practice late today, something she almost jinxed Gwenog for since she suspects the schedule was made purposely to give her less time with Harry. We agreed to have some streamers and balloons to set the mood while we eat the cake Ginny insists on baking if, sorry, _when_ she makes it back in time.

Since I'm using magic to decorate- I'm a tiny person and inflating 23 red and gold balloons all by myself would not be easy- I finish the task quite quickly. I string up the streamers; also with magic since I have no one to tell me when they're even and I can't reach high enough to stick them up. I take a step back and admire my work. The streamers hang over the main room like a red and gold tent and the balloons float at different heights around the room. It resembles the Gryffindor common room after a big Quidditch victory or during one of Ron, Harry, and Ginny's parties in seventh year, which is exactly the look Ginny wanted.

I summon my book from my nightstand and begin to read until Ginny get's home. I'm literally only one sentence into the chapter I've opened to when there's a knock on the door. I groan and slam my book shut. Peeling myself off the couch I go to let in whoever's at the door.

"Do you just open the door to anyone? I could've been a Death Eater you know. You really should ask who it is before letting people in," Ron points out half joking half serious. He's been rather overprotective ever since the events of last week.

"I was hoping my prickly mood at the moment would scare them away. Besides haven't you guys caught all of the Death Eaters yet? It's been five years and I believe you rounded up a good lot of them last week."

"Some people just don't understand quitting while they're ahead. And let's face it. Death Eaters are dumb," he allows with a shrug. He starts pulling off his raincoat, which I notice is damp. I feel my heart sink.

"Please tell me it's not raining. Our carnival plans will be ruined if it's raining!"

Ron chuckles, "Relax, 'Mione. It's just a passing storm. The _Prophet_ reported clear skies tonight."

"Good. I'd hate to have to reschedule."

Ron looks uneasy as we sit down on the couch and I snuggle into his side. He wraps his arm around my waist, but I can sense an unusual stiffness to his posture.

"Something bothering you?" I ask.

There's a brief pause before he responds with a question, "Why do you make such a big deal out of Harry's birthday?"

I turn awkwardly to look at him and I see actual concern on his face. "Ron, are you seriously worried about this?"

"Well, yeah. You don't make a big deal out of other people's birthdays."

"Oh really, Ronald? Were you present at your last birthday? Or did I just imagine all of the things we did that night?"

He blushes at the implication. "Oh yeah. Erm, I guess you're right. But you do seem to make a big deal about doing something for Harry's birthday every year."

"It's like I said the other day," I begin to explain. "Harry didn't have big birthday celebrations growing up. Part of the magic of childhood is feeling extra special on your birthday. He has a tendency to belittle the amazing things he's done for the Wizarding community. The least we can do is make him feel special. You've made a tremendous impact on the Wizarding world too, of course. But I think I show you how special you are every other day of the year."

He has a lopsided grin on which tells me he's about to take advantage of my words. "Oh really? And just how do you show me how special I am?"

Seeing that I've successfully cheered him up, I lean up to kiss him to show him what I mean. Rather quickly, things become heated, and before Ron can get my shirt off, I remember where we are and why he is here to begin with.

"Ron, we have to stop," I say between kisses.

He groans, "Hermione, come on."

"Your sister will be here any minute," I gasp as he tries to tempt me by going to work on my neck. I pull his hands out from under my shirt and manage to get us into a sitting position on the couch once more (at some point we apparently rolled off the couch and onto the floor). Ron however, is still kissing my neck rather insistently.

"Ron, your sister is staying at Harry's tonight, we can do whatever you want once we're back here," I try to persuade him. He stops suddenly.

"Good point," he says happily. "I guess we can all benefit from Harry's birthday." He wiggles his eyebrows, something that I can never take seriously, so I dissolve into a fit of laughter exacerbated by the fact that he begins tickling me.

I hear the door click open and see Ginny's feet walk into the room. We've somehow landed on the floor again. Then I hear her say, "Oh good. You're not having sex. Just a tickle fight. How grown up."

Ron gets up and extends a hand to help me to my feet as I straighten my shirt, which has gotten rumpled with all of the rolling around.

"How was practice?" I ask.

"Ugh. Exhausting. It's like she knew I had plans tonight and decided to make practice extra tiring. I don't know what Gwenog thinks she's accomplishing when she does that."

"Keeps you focused on the sport," Ron's explains as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

Ginny stares at him blankly for a moment, then just sticks her tongue out at him in response.

"Oh really mature," Ron teases.

"Too tired to make sentences," Ginny groans as she heads into the kitchen to begin baking.

"So what are you going to make?" I ask, following her and taking a seat at the table with Ron on my heels.

"My mum's treacle tart. I know how much Harry loves it, so I figured I'd better learn to make it now. What time are you going to pick him up, Ron?"

"In an hour. He had a meeting with Kingsley this afternoon, which is why I got out early. I figured I'd head back there in about a half an hour or so to meet him and bring him over."

Ginny nods, but doesn't say anything since she's clearly concentrating on making the dessert as perfect as Mrs. Weasley's. Ron and I chat quietly about the day while Ginny cooks. I keep a careful eye on her since she doesn't necessarily have the cleanest record when it comes to cooking. Just last month she burned pasta. I don't even know how that's possible. However, she must have practiced this recipe or watched her mum make it as a child because not a single thing goes wrong. Once she puts the tart in the oven she turns to face Ron and me with a triumphant look.

"Will you two watch the oven while I shower? I'm all smelly from practice." Ginny scrunches up her nose and pulls the elastic out of her hair causing her long, straight hair to cascade down her back, already preparing to jump in the shower. She'll have to be quick, which is nearly impossible for her, because Harry will be here soon. She's already left the kitchen before we can even respond.

"Well, I should actually go meet Harry," Ron says, getting up from the table.

"Right. See you in half an hour?" I ask making a point of when he needs to be back here so that we can stay on schedule. I stand up to follow him to the door and say goodbye.

"Don't worry. We won't be late," he smiles down at me. Clearly he's understood my meaning. He leans down to kiss me and I stand on my toes to meet him halfway. After a moment he groans, "Why can't we just skip ahead to tonight?"

I smack his arm and shoo him out the door with an eye roll. I walk back into the flat, collect my book, and head into the kitchen to watch the oven. Ten minutes later, Ginny reenters the kitchen in her robe with her hair dripping all over the floor.

"Record shower time for you," I point out.

As she stares into the oven she replies, "I had six brothers, I think I'm allowed to take long showers now that I don't live with them if I please."

She's still staring into the oven so I say, "You know it won't bake faster if you stare at it."

"I just want it to be perfect. Mum says not to use magic when making treacle tart. That the main ingredient should be love and you can't put in all the love without all of the work."

"Wise woman, your mum."

"Well right now she's just bloody annoying. I'm going to go get dressed. Call me when it's done."

She leaves the kitchen briskly, but returns within five minutes.

"Seriously, Gin, you are breaking records all over the place today. You should try out for the Olympics!" I tease.

Sadly, my joke is lost on her since she responds, "The O-what now?"

"Muggle international sporting event. Don't worry about it. The oven still says there's one minute left."

"I can read you know."

"Oh, really? I wasn't sure."

She peels her eyes off of the oven to stick her tongue out at me but turns back quickly when she hears the timer ding. She opens the door faster than it should go and levitates the treacle tart onto the table. It really does look perfect.

"Wow, that looks great, Ginny. Harry will love it."

"I hope so, I just want today to go perfectly."

"Why so concerned about perfection?"

"Well, I got him a special present, I'm just not sure he'll like it."

"And what that might be?"

"I got permission from Kingsley to fix up and move into his parents old house in Godric's Hollow. It's a Wizarding monument, so technically we shouldn't be allowed to live there. However, I pointed out that everything Harry's parents owned was transferred to him after their death, so it's been his house all along. As long as he wants to, we'll be renovating and moving in shortly after the wedding. Do you think he'll like it?"

"Wow," I sit back and take it all in for a second. Finally I say, "I think it's perfect. Harry never got to have a childhood, and that's the house where he should've grown up. Now he can watch his own children grow up there. He will love it."

"Oh thank Merlin! I was worried it might be too much."

"Ginny, if I know Harry at all, which I think I do since I washed his dirty laundry for almost a year, then he will adore you even more for this, which I believe is a feat in itself."

After Ginny sticks the candles in the tart, we hear a knock on the door signaling the arrival of Harry and Ron. We quickly light the candles and go to greet the birthday boy.

* * *

A/N: I hope you all liked the new chapter! Let me know what you're thinking and give me a review! In honor of Thanksgiving, I'd like to say thank you to everyone that's been reading, reviewing, favorite-ing, or put my story on alert. It's great to know what people are thinking since this is the first story I've ever written!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!

* * *

**Chapter 14**

We arrive at the carnival at half past seven. While the sun hasn't set yet, rainclouds loom in the sky, making it seem much later at night. The moon is hidden behind the clouds and the only source of light is the thousands of twinkling Christmas lights strung on the trees and around the railings of lines for the rides. It's quite beautiful, actually. The ground squishes beneath our feet as we walk around, so I'm glad I wore my rain boots to keep my feet dry from the water that comes out of the mud with every step.

The four of us stick together for a while, going to the different arcade games. We all take a turn at trying to knock down milk bottles to win a prize. I'm absolutely dreadful. But Harry and Ginny both excel due to their Quidditch training. Ron's not half bad either and he wins a stuffed penguin that he gives to me. We also try out the shooting gallery and Ron and Ginny are both amazed and terrified by the fake guns we use to shoot at the tin ducks. None of us win this game since Harry and I are too caught up in laughing at Ron and Ginny's violent reactions to each shot, which clearly prevent them from actually hitting anything.

"What about trying some of the rides?" I suggest after we've done almost all of the games and eaten our fair share of cotton candy.

"Oh yes! They look like so much fun! I've never been on a roller coaster before!" Ginny squeals.

Harry laughs and looks at her adoringly. "Me neither actually. We went to an amusement park for Dudley's birthday once, but the Dursley's wouldn't let me go on the rides since someone had to watch their stuff."

We fall into an awkward silence, not knowing how to respond to this revelation about Harry's childhood.

"Way to bring down the mood, mate," Ron says tactlessly as ever, causing me to give him a well-deserved elbow to the ribs. "Ow, Hermione!"

I just glare at him in response but Harry chuckles.

"I'm really glad we're doing this you guys. It's nice to do things I missed when I was little."

He gives me a smile that he doesn't give anyone else. It's like a smile someone would give a sibling instead of a best friend or a girlfriend. I smile back and snuggle further into Ron's side as he squeezes me tightly to his body, recognizing the brother/sister-I-never-had moment that is transpiring.

"Okay! Now, roller coasters!" Ginny exclaims pulling Harry towards the line for the 'Dragon Deathfall' which is the carnival's name for a roller coaster with a very high drop and carts shaped like dragons.

Ron and I trail behind them and I feel my heartbeat pick up as we get closer to the line. "Ron," I gulp.

"Yeah, 'Mione?"

"I hate roller coasters."

"What? You flew on an actual dragon, but you're afraid of getting into a Muggle ride with seatbelts that doesn't go nearly as high as we were on that dragon?"

I can see that he is amused and on the brink of laughing so I half-whine, "It's not funny! I had a traumatic experience on a roller coaster as a child."

"Oh, really? What might that be?"

"Well, my parents took me to this carnival when I was nine. I was finally tall enough to ride the 'Dragon Deathfall' and I was determined to go on it, but I was terrified of heights. My mum suggested I bring my teddy bear, Count Fluffington. So I brought him on the ride with me and strapped him into the seat with me. But the car went around a curve so fast that he just fell out the side of the roller coaster and into a pile of mud thirty feet below. Mum tried to clean him, but whenever I played with him after that I felt like his little black eyes were judging me for dropping him out of a roller coaster."

Ron is clearly still trying to keep from laughing, so I smack his arm and admonish, "Ronald, this is not funny!"

"You're right," He chokes out through restrained laughs. "Hey if it helps, I'll hold onto the penguin during this ride, that way there's no guilt for you if he falls out!"

I glare at him but agree since we've gotten in line behind Harry and Ginny and I don't need everyone making fun of me for my fear of fake dragons but not real ones.

* * *

Later, once Ron and I have returned to my flat after the carnival and taken part in the promised after party events from earlier, we're lying in bed and he's stroking my bare arm. I look up at his face and see a smile.

"What?" I ask.

"Count Fluffington? Really?"

"You're still on this? We just had mind blowingly good sex and you're thinking about the name of the teddy bear I got when I was four years old?"

"Okay, I'm sorry, but come on, Hermione, that name is hilarious. And you came up with it when you were four? Only you would give your teddy bear a title."

"I got it at the Buckingham Palace gift shop after my parents took me on a tour. I'd just heard about all of the royal titles and I decided he should be a count."

"And why is that?"

I feel myself blush and mumble, hoping that Ron doesn't hear, "Because I'd just learned to count to one hundred."

He dissolves into laughter, so I reprimand, "It's not funny!"

"Yes it is!"

"It is not!" I fight back, but he won't stop laughing, so I pull the pillow out from behind my head and begin hitting him with it. He just laughs harder, so I roll on top of him to get a better angle to hit him with my pillow. However, my straddle position quickly indicates that I'm clearly exciting him instead of subduing him, so I drop the pillow and go to roll off of him. Before I can bring both legs to one side of him, he grabs my left leg that I was about to bring to my side of the bed so I could get off of him. I come crashing down on top of him and I squeal, "Ron!"

He silences me with a passionate kiss before I can chastise him and soon enough we're back to our activities of less than ten minutes ago. Afterwards, he sighs as I settle into with his arm around me.

"What now?" I ask exasperatedly.

"I think Señor Iceberg was too young to see any of what just happened."

"Señor Iceberg?" I look up at him confused, but follow his eye line and pointed finger to the stuffed penguin sitting on my bureau, staring at us with wide, cartoonlike eyes.

We both fall into a fit of laughter and eventually drift off to sleep.

* * *

The next night, I'm in the kitchen making dinner when Ginny gets home from work. She is soaking wet, covered in mud, and looks exhausted.

"You look like you were just beat up by a troll," I point out.

"Hello to you, too," she groans. I notice she winces and clutches her ribs when she goes to sit down.

"You okay?"

"Oh, yeah. Just took a bludger to the side in our surprise scrimmage today. The healer said I'd be fine as long as I take it easy tonight since we have our match tomorrow against Puddlemere United. It's like Gwenog is punishing me for celebrating Harry's birthday last night."

"Well you know how she feels about boyfriends."

"'They only distract you from the game,'" Ginny imitates Gwenog in what I'm assuming is a perfect replica of her voice. Ginny is surprisingly good at impressions. "Honestly though, I think having Harry makes me more focused. Our _extracurricular_ activities always relax me and clear my mind if you know what I mean."

"Yes, Ginny. Your innuendo is quite clear. I'm sure Gwenog is just a bit miffed that her best chaser is getting married in almost two weeks," I try to voice Gwenog's side of things.

"That doesn't mean I'll stop playing! They'll have to carry me off that pitch kicking and screaming and that won't be until I'm nine months pregnant with my first child," Ginny pronounces definitively.

"We'll see about that," I mumble under my breath.

"And why wouldn't I be playing until my baby is about to pop out?!" She is clearly annoyed, but I suspect her state of exhaustion is not abating her irritability, either.

"I'm just saying that Quidditch can be dangerous. Look at your ribs! Do you really think Harry would let you put his hypothetical first-born child at risk of needing to have his or her arm bones regrown because of an injury sustained while you were pregnant?"

"Hmph," is all Ginny can manage to say in response.

"Speaking of you and Harry's future," I attempt to change the subject, "what did he say about Godric's Hollow?"

I turn from the counter where I'm preparing a salad to go with our dinner to see her face light up.

"He loved it," she smiles. "We are going to start rebuilding right after we get married. He wants to move in by Christmas if possible."

"That's fantastic. I'm so happy for you two." I turn back to preparing the salad and begin chopping an onion.

"What about you and Ron? You're moving in together after the wedding. Any plan to set a date for your wedding anytime soon?"

The knife slips and the butterflies that I haven't felt in the last week since no one's brought up the wedding with all the talk of the injury and Harry's birthday return with a vengeance.

"Not yet," I feel my voice quiver, but hope Ginny doesn't notice, and try to focus on making dinner.

* * *

A/N: And there's another chapter done! Give me a review as a belated birthday present...?


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!

* * *

**Chapter 15**

It is pouring rain during the Quidditch match the next day. Only the volume of the fans watching the game matches the sound of the roaring wind. Puddlemere and the Harpies have always promised a good game, especially this year since they keep going back and fourth for first in the league. Some say the Harpies have the advantage since Ginny had two years of watching Oliver Wood's tactics as Keeper while he hadn't seen her play until their first match after Hogwarts.

Ron, Harry, and I are huddled together, trying to stay as dry as possible. Ron's massive arm is draped over my shoulder, and I'm attempting to use his body as a shield from the rain. However, this task is made nearly impossible since Harry and Ron go absolutely bonkers anytime Ginny catches the quaffle or makes a good pass, which is about once a minute. She's already scored 50 of the Harpies' 80 points, giving them a solid lead over Puddlemere's 30.

The boys are extremely protective of Ginny when they watch her play Quidditch. For example, just before Ginny scores her sixth goal, one of Puddlemere's beaters sends a bludger straight in her direction.

"GINNY! GINNY, WATCH OUT!" Harry and Ron scream in almost perfect unison.

Somehow she is able to pick out her fiancé and brother's voices above the noise of the wind and the crowd. She turns towards us to see what is going on, and catches sight of the bludger as it makes its way towards her. She goes into an extremely skilled dive, coming up and rerouting for the goalposts only when she is below the range of the bludger. Wood doesn't even see her coming and she scores the Harpies' 90th point easily.

"The snitch!" Harry gasps, pointing to a spot about one hundred yards to our left.

"You really should've gone into professional Quidditch instead of being an Auror, mate," Ron points out with a tone of awe. It really is amazing how good he is at finding that teeny tiny gold ball when his eyesight is absolutely dreadful without his glasses. I swear those things must give him super sight.

"Eh, figured I didn't want to give your sister any competition," Harry jokes.

The Harpies's seeker, Melinda Goodsen, spots the snitch and begins to track it.

"Why doesn't she just go for the snitch?" I ask. I swear I'll never understand Quidditch tactics.

"Look where Puddlemere's seeker is," Ron explains pointing towards Jeffrey Hubbard who is about twenty yards below where the snitch is now, making him twenty yards closer than Melinda. "If she accelerates or changes direction too quickly and he notices, it's over for the Harpies."

"I can do math, Ronald. I'd figured that much out."

Melinda circles the pitch rather calmly, but I can see a panicked look in her eyes which tells me she's nervous that Hubbard will notice the snitch's precarious position. Luckily, the snitch begins to shoot upwards, giving Melinda the advantage. She points her broom, a Firebolt 5, which is the official broom of the Harpies this season, straight up to follow it.

"It looks like Goodsen's spotted the snitch!" Lee Jordan, who is providing the official commentary for this game, announces. Hubbard looks around dumbfounded until he spots Melinda zooming into the sky. His Nimbus 2010 is a comparable broom according to Harry, but Hubbard's flying skills have beaten Melinda on more than one occasion this season. We can see him catching up to her as they approach the cloud cover.

"Weasley's scored again, bringing the score to 100-30 to the Harpies," Lee's voice booms through the pitch once more, bringing our eyes back down to earth where we can actually see what's going on. The chasers are frantically fighting over the quaffle in an attempt to score last minute points before the snitch is caught.

Soon enough, both Melinda and Hubbard are flying back towards the pitch and we quickly realize that Melinda is holding the snitch above her head in victory.

"The Holyhead Harpies win! The final score is 250-30 in the most disappointing loss for Puddlemere United all season. The Harpies are back in first in the league, giving Puddlemere one more chance to win back the title three weeks form today." Lee's commentary continues, providing breakdowns of specific plays and tactics, but we've stopped listening since we're rushing towards the field with the other friends and family of the players.

Once Ginny and her team have finished celebrating together, they break off to greet their friends. Ginny races towards us, and Harry picks her up and swings her around. However, the rain has caused the pitch to become a mud pit, and Harry loses his balance so they both go tumbling to the ground in a fit of laughter.

The reporters are on us soon enough as they always are whenever we go to one of Ginny's games together. Flashbulbs go off, capturing Harry's moment of clumsiness.

"Would you two get up?" Ron whines. "You're causing a scene."

"Could you give me a hand?" Harry asks seemingly innocently, but I see the glint of trickery lurking there. "I feel like I'm stuck in quick sand."

Ron reaches out with his left hand, the one not occupied with holding my hand, to help Harry. That's when it clicks. I pull my hand out of Ron's in an attempt to avoid being pulled into the mud alongside him when Harry brings him down instead of accepting the help back onto his feet. My quick thinking is too quick for my body to catch up, so I throw off my own balance and fall backwards into the mud.

"Ron!" I screech, even though this is my own fault.

He's laughing from his spot next to Harry where he too is now covered in mud.

Ginny points at me and laughs, "You look ridiculous Hermione!"

"How about you?!" I feel the laughter catching and point at her robes. "You look like one of Dominique's soiled diapers."

Harry laughs harder, "She's totally right!"

"Oh, really? You look like a giant bruise," Ginny teases, pointing at Harry's blue jeans and black shirt which do in fact look like a healing bruise now that they're smeared in dirt.

His extremely mature response is to pick up a handful of mud and throw it at her. Without warning, a mud fight breaks out on the pitch, and no one is safe. Reporters are ducking for cover while also trying to snap pictures which is quite hilarious to watch. Both the Harpies and Puddlemere are so covered in mud, you can't even tell which players are on which team. The family and friends are just as muddy, so really it's just one big mudfest.

Finally, Gwenog stands on a bench off to the side of the pitch and shouts, "That's enough, Harpies hit the showers!"

Just then, a fistful of mud hits her square in the face. Ginny ducks behind Harry, because everyone knows that the only person involved in these shenanigans with aim that good is Ginny Weasley.

Gwenog swipes her hand across her face spits out a mouthful of dirt and shouts, "Weasley! My office! Now!"

"Oh bugger," Ginny groans. She turns to Harry, Ron, and me and says, "Meet me outside the locker room in half an hour." She trudges off shouldering her broom over her defeated frame.

The crowd begins to clear out leaving Ron, Harry, and me standing on the pitch.

"Well, at least the paparazzi left somewhere in the middle there," Ron points out.

"Yeah, thankfully," Harry sighs. He will never get over his camera shyness.

The rain has not stopped through the mud battle, so mud is falling off of the boys in clumps and I begin to laugh. They look at me like I'm crazy and I explain through laughs, " You look even more ridiculous than before. It's like you're walking talking mudslides."

"Look who's talking, you're so splotchy you could give a Dalmatian a run for it's money," Ron attempts to make a come back.

"Oh please, Ronald. Dalmatians are black and white, not brown. And they certainly don't wear clothes."

Harry chuckles, "Yep, same old Hermione under all that mud."

"And I wouldn't have it any other way," Ron says, smiling down at me as he wraps his arm around me and we begin to walk inside towards the locker room. Once we reach the door for the Harpies' lockers, we take a seat on a bench and begin to clean ourselves off with the handy dandy _scourgify_ charm. We chat about the game, well Harry and Ron chat about the game and I nod along, while we wait for Ginny to finish talking with Gwenog and take a shower.

After the promised half hour, Ginny comes out of the locker room smelling clean and her freshly washed hair emits the fresh smell of roses. I instantly feel jealous since I couldn't get all of the mud out of my own hair since it's so frizzy from the rain that I couldn't reach the roots with the spell no matter how strong my spell casting is. I definitely still reek of mud since while the charm may get rid of a mess visually, it certainly doesn't work very well on odors. At least Ron and Harry are just as messy as I am. We must resemble ourselves after one of our adventures back at Hogwarts.

Harry stands to greet Ginny. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah. Ugh. You lot stink," Ginny wrinkles her nose just as Harry leans in to kiss her on the cheek as she recoils.

"You're so kind, Gin," Ron teases.

"Oh I know, I figured you're better off with the truth than a lie. This way you can all go shower before we go out to the Leaky Cauldron to celebrate so that the rest of world doesn't have to smell you, too!"

"You really are too generous," Ron practically seethes.

Harry chuckles then his brow wrinkles with thought as he asks, "Why are we celebrating at the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Well, the Harpies' fantastic win for starters. And secondly, Gwenog has just made me team captain!"

Harry picks Ginny up and spins her around before Ron can jump up from his seat on the bench to do the exact same thing. I just hug her. No way am I strong enough to pick her up. She's four inches taller than me.

After we finish our congratulations, we head back to Grimmauld Place to shower and go to the Leaky Cauldron for the celebration. The rain has finally let up, so we decide to walk instead of apparate since there's a nice breeze to the warm summer air. The second we walk into the pub there's an uproar of applause. Ginny's teammates have already gotten the party started and must have spread the word about her new position on the team.

"Ginny!" I hear Neville shout from by the bar where he's chatting with Hannah Abbott. He makes his way through the crowd to meet us. "Ginny, congratulations on being made captain! Melinda told just about the whole pub once they got here."

"Thanks, Neville," Ginny says as he hugs her. "I really wasn't expecting it. I actually thought she was going to bench me for the next game after I threw mud in her face." Neville looks appropriately shocked at this revelation, something Melinda left out of her story I'm sure. "But she just said she's amazed at what I've done for the team's morale over the past season even with my preoccupation of an impending marriage. Not to mention, I've been having my best season yet, and I scored the most goals I've ever scored against Puddlemere in one game today."

Ginny is practically giddy with excitement, and the mood is infectious. Soon enough, we're on our third round of drinks and Ginny and I are giggling in a corner while Harry and Ron talk to Neville over at the bar.

After one particularly violent round of giggles brought on by Ginny's revelation of Harry's most recent bout of sleep talking, Ginny points out, "You know, the next time we party like this will be at my bachelorette party!"

She dissolves into giggles again as she takes a sip of her drink. I pretend to laugh along, but suddenly feel quite sober as I realize I'm the maid of honor and I've yet to start planning the bachelorette party.

* * *

Once we arrive back at Grimmauld Place and Harry and Ginny have gone to Harry's room and Ron and I to his, I ask, "Ron?"

"Yeah, 'Mione?" He responds sleepily as he turns down the blankets on his bed.

I begin to change into one of Ron's button down shirts the double as a nightgown on nights that I sleep over and forget my pajamas. I clear my throat and say, "You're Harry's best man."

"Five points for Gryffindor," Ron jokes.

"Very funny," I sigh. "Have you planned a stag night for Harry, yet?"

"Yeah, of course I have! What kind of best man would I be if I hadn't?!" Ron exclaims as if I've asked what the proper wand motion is for a levitating charm. After a pause he asks, "Have you not planned Ginny's party?"

After another pause I answer, "Erm…No."

"Hermione! I can't believe you! I've never known you to be so unorganized! Oh, wait until I tell Harry. He'll think this is hilarious!"

"Ron," I scold, "you will not tell Harry because this is not funny. And if you tell Harry, then he will tell Ginny and I will no longer be the maid of honor. Do you want to walk down the aisle at their wedding with Audrey?"

He instantly stops laughing. "Ginny wouldn't pick Audrey as her maid of honor if she fired you. She'd pick Angelina."

"Oh, so you'd rather Angelina be your partner through this wedding?" I know I'm being unfair, but I'm tired, irritated, and still a little bit drunk, to be quite honest.

"You know that's not what I said," Ron sighs, defeated. Then splutters, "What were we even talking about?"

"I need to plan a bachelorette party for Ginny."

"Right. Er… Well, as long as you don't get her plastered and have some muggle stripper waving his," Ron motions frantically in the air trying to say nonverbally what he refuses to say out loud before finally settling on "thing in her face, I'm sure you'll throw my baby sister a lovely bachelorette party."

"Ok so lots of alcohol and penises. Got it," I tease.

"Hermione," Ron practically growls.

I plop down on his bed and begin to pull the sheets up over my head to go to sleep even though I know how much I've just annoyed him, which I know just turns him on. I just say, "Goodnight, Ronald."

I silently giggle to myself as I feel his weight shift the bed as he lies down next to me. He rips off the sheets and flips me over so that we're both on our sides and I'm looking straight at him.

"Hermione," he says again, but this time more knowingly, since he's caught onto what I've just done once he sees the mischievous glint in my eye that I got from hanging out with him and Harry too much.

He pulls me closer to him, wrapping one arm around my waist while his other hand strokes my hair, which he's pulled out of its messy bun on top of my head. "Hermione," he says one last time, extremely seductively. At this point I know I'm a goner and we won't be sleeping much at all tonight.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you all are having a great holiday season! I'm going to try to get a lot of writing done over my break which means hopefully a lot more to read soon!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

* * *

**Chapter 16**

One week later, it's time for the most thrown together bachelorette party ever. I had no idea how much planning goes into one of these things, and Ron wouldn't even help by giving me clues as to what he had planned for Harry's party. The guest list includes Luna (who is finally back from her trip), Angelina, the Harpies, Fleur, and Audrey. I've decorated the flat with purple and gold streamers and balloons; Ginny's never cared much for pink since it clashes with her hair. There is enough champagne chilling in the refrigerator (which I had to magically expand) to get all of Gryffindor house thoroughly plastered. In other words, location number one of the party is ready to go. That's right. Location number one. There are in fact two locations.

I've asked Angelina to keep Ginny out of the flat all afternoon so I can set up, which wasn't that hard for her to do. Gwenog keeps adding extra practices due to the fast approaching match against Puddlemere and Ginny's expected absence before the match since she'll be on her honeymoon. The party's not supposed to start until 8, but I asked all of the guests, minus Ginny to arrive by 7:30 so we could properly prepare ourselves for tonight's events.

I'm just putting my earrings on when I hear a knock on the door. When I open the door, Luna is standing in the hallway looking around as if she's never been here. I have to call her name to get her attention.

"Oh, Hermione!" Luna gasps in a surprised voice, although I'm not sure why she should be surprised since she knocked on my door.

"You're early. I wasn't expecting anyone for another ten minutes." I am rather shocked actually; Luna tends to be the last one to show up everywhere we go.

"Yes, well, I wanted to come catch up before everyone else arrives. I haven't had the chance to see you since I got back form my trip. Can I come in?"

I realize I'm still standing in my doorway staring at her as if she has three heads, so I step aside and gesture for her to enter.

"How was your trip? Did you find any Crumple-Horned Snorkacks?"

"No. Possibly a few tracks, though."

After an awkward silence, I can never really think of what to say to Luna, I ask, "Did you do anything exciting?"

"I went on one of those Muggle safaris. It was quite interesting. We saw an elephant, which Rolf thought might be a Crumple-Horned Snorkack, but I pointed out they wouldn't be so carelessly out in the open. Oh, then one night we were invited to a tribal ceremony and we got married. Anyways, how are things with you? I read in the Prophet that you and Ron are engaged."

Now I am really staring at her like she has three heads. Did she just say what I thought she said?

"Wait a second. Luna, did you say you got _married_?"

"Oh, yeah."

"To Rolf?" I ask, still in disbelief.

"Yes." Now she's looking at me as if I'm the one with extra body parts.

"At an African tribal ceremony?"

"Well everyone else was doing it, so we thought 'Why not?' and we got married."

"Oh and if everyone else was becoming Death Eaters, would you line up for your dark mark tattoo, too?"

She is suddenly very serious, "Hermione, that's not funny."

"I know it's not, but marriage isn't something you just jump into!"

"Why are you so afraid of marriage? You're engaged after all."

I feel the butterflies begin to flutter at the fear that I might have to answer her question, but I am literally saved by the bell, well knock, and excuse myself to go answer the door. I let in Audrey, Fleur, and a few of Ginny's teammates, and the flat is suddenly humming with conversation. Luna is talking with Gabby James who was a Hufflepuff a year below Ginny and Luna and now plays Keeper for the Harpies.

I cannot believe that Luna got married. She seemed like the type of person that would just float around from one relationship to another, never settling down. To be quite honest, I always thought she had a thing for Neville, so I was extremely surprised when Rolf came into the picture seven months ago. They've only been dating for seven months, yet they are married. Ron and I have known each other for nearly twelve years and have been dating for five, but the thought of getting married makes me more nervous than the prospect of failing my N.E.W.T. exams.

I don't get much more time to think about all of this because soon the rest of the Harpies have arrived and I debrief them on how the night will go. Just after I finish, Ginny and Angelina come into the flat. We promptly descend on Ginny; pulling the muggle party poppers I bought and enchanted to release purple and gold glitter so that she jumps with each pop. Now that everyone is sufficiently sparkly, I pop open a few bottles of champagne while Angelina places a tiara and sash on Ginny, declaring her the bride-to-be.

After handing out drinks to everyone, I stand on the coffee table to make a speech.

"Attention, ladies! You are all officially part of the Ginny Weasley-soon-to-be-Potter Bachelorette Party Extravaganza. Drink up, because we only have an hour left here before we will be moving on to destination number two."

I hop off the table and go to stand by Ginny. "So what do you think? Do I get your stamp of approval so far?"

Angelina's put on some music and some of the guests have started dancing. Ginny downs her first glass of champagne and holds it out to me for a refill.

"Keep the alcohol coming and I'm sure any party that was put together by Hermione Granger will be absolutely fantastic."

"Hey, are you saying you don't approve of my party planning abilities?"

"No, just that you have no experience with parties of this sort. Luncheons for House Elves, sure. But a bachelorette party? I don't know…," she trails of clearly teasing me, but I can't resist the bait.

"Oh you'll see, Ginevra Weasley, this is going to be the best bachelorette party you've ever been to, and not just because it's your own."

"Okay then, drink up! This is my party and I want to make sure that you are wasted because I find it amusing."

I roll my eyes, but comply by finishing my drink. Within twenty minutes, half of the champagne is gone. Everyone is as bubbly as their beverages, and we're having a grand old time dancing and singing along to our favorite songs from our Hogwarts days.

In my tipsy state, I forgot to look at my watch until fifteen minutes past when we were supposed to leave. When I see the clock on the wall I shout, "Merlin's pants! We've gotta go! Everyone out!"

Ginny is clearly holding her liquor better than I am even though she's had more than I have and she grabs onto my arm to steady me as I make my way to the door. She laughs, "Hermione, where are we going?"

"To the limo!" I exclaim pointing towards the door as I begin my march out of the apartment. "Let's go, ladies!"

I can hear mumbles from people behind me who have never heard of a limo before. I knew this might be an issue, but I thought it would be something different and exciting for Ginny to try. The chauffer opens the door and I pull Ginny into the car. It has a disco ball, purple twinkling lights, a bubble machine, and a mini bar stocked with even more champagne. It's really not a far walk to where we are going from our flat, but this just seemed like too much fun to pass up.

The girls are all ooo-ing and aw-ing at the "magic" that is a muggle limousine. Ginny turns to me and says, "Hermione, this is amazing! Do muggles use these a lot?"

"No, just the really cool ones."

"Wicked."

Two bottles of champagne later, we arrive at our final destination, well, as close as a limo can take us anyways.

"The Leaky Cauldron?" Hermione asks skeptically. "What's so special about the Leaky Cauldron? We go here all the time."

"Not the Leaky Cauldron, silly. Diagon Alley!"

We stumble through the pub and pick up Hannah who is closing early so that she can join us and make it onto the alley that's busy with witches and wizards out for a stroll on a nice summer night. The whole way, Angelina and the Harpies shout, "Make Way! Future Mrs. Potter coming through! Make way for Mrs. Chosen One!"

Ginny rolls her eyes at their antics, but giggles along, and I see her eyes light up whenever someone refers to her as Mrs. Potter. Since I'm leading the group, I come to a stop and announce, "We have arrived at our final destination. The Cackling Stump! Open bar for our party, on me! The Man-Drakes are playing a sold out show, but I got us all access to the VIP section, so no need to worry about being trampled by crazed fans!"

The Man-Drakes are a band of five guys, all named Drake, that started during our last year at Hogwarts. They've become quite popular and are very swoon-worthy.

"Hermione, I can't believe you did all of this. It must have cost you a fortune," Ginny says as she pulls me aside after we get into the club.

"Well, you know how I don't like to use my name to get special treatment for things like this?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I may have told them that I was throwing you a bachelorette party and we were deciding between this or somewhere in Hogsmeade, so they gave us the VIP passes for free and they're giving me a discount on our drinks. Normally I'd hate the special treatment, but for you I'll take it."

She throws her arms around me and cries, "Hermione, you're the best! If I wasn't marrying Harry, I'd marry you!"

"Two Weasleys all for me! I don't know if I could handle all of that red hair!"

"Shut up and take the compliment."

We both nearly fall over laughing. After we get our drinks at the bar (they've designed a special cocktail for tonight they're calling "The Ginny" which is firewhiskey, some kind of strawberry liqueur, and pineapple juice), we go to the platform beside the stage where the other girls are already dancing in the VIP section.

The band starts their set and we're all dancing as if no one is watching. The problem is, people are watching, and one of those people is Cormac McLaggen. The other problem is I only find out he is watching when he slides up behind me, grabs my waist, and starts trying to dance with me.

"Holy Merlin's sodding beard!" I shout, jumping away from the slime ball. "What on Earth do you think you're doing?! How did you even get into the VIP section? You most certainly are not someone I would call important."

I can see that my behavior has caught Ginny's attention. She's turned away from the stage to watch what's going on, ready to step in if need be.

"Oh come on, Hermione. We're just having fun. You know, like we did at Hogwarts."

"I went to one Christmas party with you. ONE! And it was only to make Ron jealous."

"You can't deny you enjoyed our time under the mistletoe."

"I most certainly can! You practically gagged me with your dried up lizard tongue."

"Hey, give it a second chance. You just make me really nervous. I'm sure you'll like it this time."

In my drunken state, I can't seem to think quick enough to see him advance towards me. He pulls me towards him and slides his hand down my back. To everyone's surprise, including my own. He grabs my ass.

"Oh no he did not," I can hear Angelina say behind me.

There's some motion to come help, but I hear Ginny command, "Wait. Give her a second."

Bolstered by my best friend's confidence, I pull out my wand and stick it in Cormac's Chest until he's pushed away from me. "I may have gotten in trouble last time I hexed you because we were at work. But this is clearly harassment, and we most definitely aren't at the Ministry right now. Don't think for a second I won't hex you. You are a smarmy git who I wish I'd never associated with back at Hogwarts. I'd rather go on a date with Draco Malfoy than spend one more second in your presence. I am engaged to _Ron_. Get it through your thick skull. Now, in Merlin's name, leave me alone or I swear I will hex you so badly you'll wish you were never born."

There's a moment's silence and then he backs up with his hands in the air, nearly falling down the stairs up to the platform since he refuses to turn his back on me. Once he's gone, there's a cheer from Ginny, Angelina, and the rest of the girls. Ginny comes over to me, wraps an arm around my shoulder, hands me another "Ginny", and exclaims, "To Hermione Granger," holding up her own drink in a toast. "The best friend and party planner and one of the gutsiest girls to have ever stood up to Cormac McLaggen!"

Everyone else holds up their drinks in agreement, and soon enough we're back to dancing the night away.

Shortly after the Man-Drakes have finished their set, some of the guests, Fleur and Audrey specifically, start to disperse. Not much later, Ginny, Luna, and I are the only ones left form the original party.

"So Ginny, I have one more surprise for you tonight."

"What? Really? This was all too much, you really don't have to do anything else."

"Oh but I do," I argue oh so convincingly.

"Well, what is it then?"

"Firstly, who of us three is the most sober?"

"Definitely not you. I don't think you've drank as much in your entire life as you did tonight."

"Five points for Gryffindor," I exclaim holding up four fingers instead of five. I look at my hand for a moment and then mumble confusedly, "That's not right."

Ginny and Luna nearly fall over laughing. Luna finally answers my question dreamily, "I actually am completely sober. I haven't had anything to drink all night."

Ginny and I stare at her for a second in disbelief. Until I say oh so kindly, "But you were one of the loopiest people of all tonight. How is that possible?"

Ginny elbows me in the side to shut me up.

Luna graciously ignores my comment and asks, "Where am I apparating us to?"

I lean over and whisper our actual final location, other than home, in her ear. Her face splits into a smile and she grabs both of our arms. The oh so pleasant feeling of apparation takes over and is gone within seconds.

We're outside the gates of Hogwarts. Ginny looks up at them and then at me and asks, "What are we doing here?"

"I thought you'd like to watch the sunrise over the lake. Like we used to do during our last year here."

"You really do think of everything, Hermione," Ginny says and hugs me in a way that only best friends can hug.

* * *

A/N: So break was really crazy and I didn't get nearly as much writing done as I'd hoped. I have a few chapters stacked up so hopefully they last until my next break. I hope you're all enjoying the story!


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimner: I don't own Harry Potter!

* * *

**Chapter 17**

Monday is Ginny's 22nd birthday. I made chocolate cupcakes when I got home from work and decorated them as different Quidditch balls. I stuck a candle in one of the Quaffles so that she has something to blow out and make a wish on. She asked us not to do anything major for her birthday since the wedding is on Saturday and she doesn't want to tire herself out too much before the big day. Harry asked me if I wouldn't mind going over to Grimmauld Place so that he can spend the night here with Ginny. Obviously I said yes, partly because I wanted to give them some privacy. Mostly because Ron still hasn't told me what they did for Harry's stag night.

Ginny arrives home about an hour after I've finished the cupcakes. I'm laying on the couch reading a book on house-elf policies in Brazil when she walks in the room, greets me with an, "Ugh," and plops down on the sofa where my feet were seconds before I saw her falling onto their resting place.

"Rough practice?"

"I swear she has it in for me this week."

"Well you are taking off all next week when you have the biggest match of your season coming up."

"Ugh, stop defending her."

"Okay, she's evil and unreasonable and you should be able to do whatever you want."

"Seriously!" Ginny agrees, even though she knows I'm mocking her. She stretches out her legs in front of her and her arms over her head. Every joint in her body cracks from overuse and strain. I let out a wince in sympathy.

"Would a birthday cupcake make it better?" I ask, picking up my wand to summon the goodies from the kitchen table.

"You know me so well."

After she blows out the candle and we eat our cupcakes in silence, I pick up my book to read again and she closes her eyes as if she's about to take a nap. There's a knock on the door, so I get up to answer it.

"Harry!" I say when I open the door. "Come on in."

"Thanks, Hermione. Is Ginny back yet?"

"Yeah, she's been home for about thirty minutes. She's exhausted and sore from practice."

Harry rolls his eyes knowingly and sighs, "Gwenog."

"You guessed it!"

"Okay, well I brought her some stuff for a bubble bath. I figured she'd be needing a lot of them this week, the way Gwenog will be piling on the extra practices and drills."

I shake my head and smile. "You really are too kind, Harry."

"I try," he smiles back.

"Well, I'll just get my things from my room and get out of your way."

"Thanks, Hermione."

"It won't be long before you won't even need to ask me to leave to get some alone time together. I figured it's the least I could do."

I grab my things from my room and when I walk back through the main room, Harry is sitting on the couch trying to rouse Ginny who is grumbling about not wanting to wake up. I hear the tub running in the bathroom and the soothing sent of lavender and peppermint floats through the air. I catch Harry's eye and wave goodbye as I go to leave.

* * *

Ron answers the door practically before I can even knock. He pulls me inside, shuts the door, and starts kissing me. When I finally see an opening, I shift a little bit so that I can pull away enough to speak.

"Ronald! What's gotten into you?"

"I've missed you," he explains between kisses as he makes his way down my neck to my collarbone and back.

I let out a sigh because what he is doing feels extremely good, but I can't resist the urge to point out, "You saw me yesterday during dinner at your parents' house. How could you possibly miss me when it's been less than twenty four hours?"

His hands are finding their way under my shirt and I'm finding it very hard to stay focused.

After a moment, he responds, "I didn't get to talk to you though."

"About…?"

"Saturday night," he says nonchalantly, still continuing with his kissing and hand moving.

I feel myself freeze and move my hands from the back of his neck where they've been playing with the ends of his hair to his chest, so I can push him away.

"What happened Saturday night?" I ask, feeling myself becoming nervous as his face turns red. "Ronald Weasley, you tell me what's going on right now."

He throws up his hands in surrender and claims, "It's nothing," but he has an "it's something" look on his face. He grabs my hand and leads me up to his room, sitting us both on his bed before he continues to explain. "We ran into someone during the party."

"And who might that someone be?" I ask, even though I'm pretty sure I already know the answer.

"Well, first of all, let me tell you how this all happened. My plan for the night was to break into Hogwarts, have some drinks in the Gryffindor common room, then make our way down to Hogsmeade, and go to the Hog's Head where Aberforth assured me no one we didn't know would be able to get in."

"Okay…" I trail off, not seeing the problem.

"And that was what happened, until we got to the Hog's Head and Aberforth didn't realize that the 'no one we didn't know' also included Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown."

I feel my face turn into a mask of anger as my suspicion from earlier is confirmed.

"They were already there when we got there, and they had clearly had a few drinks. When Lavender saw me, she threw herself at me and attacked my face with her mouth."

"So you snogged her?"

"Technically no. She tried really hard to kiss me, but I managed to get her off pretty quickly. She was rather pathetic actually, sort of like a slobbery dog. Aberforth made her leave after that."

After a moment, I burst into laughter. Ron stares at me as if I've gone loony. Then asks, "Erm, Hermione? You okay?"

I can feel tears welling up in my eyes from laughing so hard, so I take a few deep breaths and manage to say, "Yeah, I'm good."

"What's so funny?"

"You and Lavender. The fact that she thinks there's even a possibility of you two getting back together. And of course that you made me think you did something awful like sleep with her."

I can see Ron physically relax and let out a sigh. "So you're not mad at me?"

I slide closer to him and rest my hands on either side of his face as I explain, "No, I'm not mad at you. I'm annoyed with Lavender for trying to steal my fiancé, but I'm not mad at you. Besides, you told me about it now, so clearly it's not some big secret that you're ashamed of."

"Oh, no. It was pretty shameful. The guys were taking the mickey out of me the rest of the night."

"And that's all the punishment you really need," I say, leaning in to kiss him. I have a sudden realization that I have my own story to share.

"In the name of full disclosure," I interrupt our kissing before it gets too intense to stop. "I had a run in with Cormac."

Ron's face starts turning red and that adorable way it does when he gets angry. I calm him down by placing my hand on his chest, and then I continue with my story.

"We were at the Cackling Stump and he tried to dance up on me, so I pushed him off. He grabbed my ass, so I threatened his life with a severe hexing. He almost fell over trying to run away. Needless to say, I think I took care of him for at least the next five years," I finish proudly.

Ron chuckles and declares, "I give it five weeks. Six tops."

"And why is that?" I ask insulted.

"Because you're so irresistible," Ron smiles and leans in to kiss me, putting an end to our discussion of the revelry that was the night of the bachelor and bachelorette parties.

* * *

A/N: Just a quick update to hold you all over for a little while. I hope you enjoyed it!


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

* * *

**Chapter 18**

The week flies by, and before I know it, it's Friday, otherwise known as the night before Harry and Ginny's wedding. Originally, everyone had planned on spending the night in The Burrow to make tomorrow easier. The problem is, the Weasley family is significantly larger than it has ever been, so there are not enough beds and there's no extra space to put camp beds. The final arrangements are: Ginny and me in Ginny's room, Ron and Harry in Ron's room, Percy and Audrey in Percy's room, Bill and Fleur in Bill and Charlie's room with Dominique in a pop up crib and Victoire in a sleeping bag on the floor, George and Charlie in Fred and George's room, and Angelina and Charlie's date, Sarah, in the living room. I don't think the Burrow has been this full since Bill and Fleur's wedding (Percy and Audrey's wedding wasn't at The Burrow since she insisted on having it at her parent's estate in Scotland).

There's a lively stillness to the air that you can only sense when lots of bodies are soundly sleeping in one place. I stare at the ceiling from my camp bed and listen for the sounds of deep, steady breathing that I've come to recognize as a sign that Ginny's asleep. Instead, I hear slightly panicked, shallow gasps, and suddenly she begins thrashing. I leap out of my bed and onto hers and shake her until her eyes open and she shoots upright, a damp sweat on her forehead.

"Ginny, Ginny, are you okay?" I ask worriedly, summoning an empty glass from her nightstand and conjuring some water into it. I hand her the glass and she takes deep gulps of water until her breathing slows down.

"I had a nightmare," she explains, a look of terror still on her face.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She doesn't answer right away, but instead stares at the glass of water, which she's holding loosely in her lap between her legs, crossed Indian style. She gathers her thoughts and launches into her dream.

"I was in my wedding dress, and Harry was in his dress robes. We were at the Battle of Hogwarts, but it was supposed to be our wedding day. Harry kept saying, 'We can't be together.' I didn't understand because, as I pointed out over and over again, Voldemort is gone and we don't have to hide anymore. He'd say, 'I have to protect you. I'm sorry.' Then he ran off and before I could catch up because I was being slowed down by my stupid dress, Voldemort swooped down from the sky and sent the Killing Curse at him. He was dead before I could even reach him. Before we could even get married."

Her tiny frame shakes again with sobs as she relives her nightmare, and I scoot closer to her so that I can pull her into a hug and rock her until she calms down. Once she's quiet I offer, "Do you want me to go get Harry?"

"No," she sniffles, "I'm fine. I have this dream a lot. It was just really intense tonight. I know he's sleeping soundly in Ron's room upstairs."

She tries to smile, but it comes out as more of a grimace. I hand her a tissue to wipe some tears away and let her continue.

"I just always had this fear that I wouldn't get to spend the rest of my life with Harry. Now it's happening. But I've had this dream of terrible things happening to him forever. I'd dream he got hit in the head with a bludger before I could tell him I liked him. When we were dating, he'd get attacked by a Death Eater before I could tell him I love him. When we were broken up, Voldemort would kill him before we could get back together. Then after the war, it's been variations on this dream except it would be before we got engaged instead of getting married."

"I know, Gin. You've told me. But hey, you're getting married tomorrow. You don't have to worry anymore."

"That's just it though, Hermione. I do have to worry. I'm marrying Harry Potter. There's always going to be something dangerous with a target on his extremely chiseled back. After this it will be Voldemort kills him before we have children and eventually grandchildren. There's no end to it."

I'm at a loss for words because she's right of course. There's really no easy fix to this problem, though. I look at Ginny's downtrodden expression to see a smile slowly appear.

"I'm marrying Harry Potter tomorrow."

I look at the clock and see that it's 12:01 AM. I can't resist the urge to correct her and point out, "Today."

She shakes her head and chuckles. "Fine then. I'm marrying Harry Potter _today_."

"You're happy all of a sudden," while I'm pleased that she's no longer sobbing into my shoulder, I do want to understand why she's suddenly so chipper.

"Like I said, I never thought I'd get to spend the rest of my life with Harry. Today we declare to the world that we're going to try our absolute hardest to do exactly that. And hey, if there's another battle, then he has to take me with him. He will officially be completely committed. There's no turning back now."

"That seems kind of, I don' know, morbid?" I try, looking for the right word.

Ginny contemplates my suggestion for a bit then shrugs. "I like to think of it as hopeful. Hopeful that we get to do everything right from now on, no more mistakes like when we first got together. No more needless break ups to protect me, no more worrying about where he is all the time."

Suddenly her face falls again. I go to reach for the tissues, ready for another crying attack. She grabs my arm and looks at me, startled.

"What? What's wrong?" I ask, seriously concerned.

"I will know where Harry is all the time," she says as if this explains her sudden mood swing.

"Yes, and…" I trail off, hoping for a more complete answer.

"I will know where Harry is all the time because we'll be living together. I have to live with a boy. Again. Something I swore to myself as a twelve-year-old that I would never do after moving out of The Burrow and having to deal with six brothers."

I let out a huge sigh of relief then begin to laugh. She swats me with a pillow, which I duck.

"It's not funny, Hermione. Boys are messy. You've seen the way Harry keeps Grimmauld Place."

"Yes I have, but I've also seen your room, which believe me, is much worse."

"It is not," she grumbles.

"Ginny, if I don't find a dirty bowl of cereal under your bed from when we first moved in when I'm cleaning up your room next week, I will be extremely surprised. The only reason the rest of the flat is clean is because I keep it that way."

She sighs. "You're right. Harry and I are going to die in a pit of our own filth. You're just going to have to come clean up after us once a week."

"It would have to be once a day, and no way will that ever be happening."

We both laugh, and fall back on the pillows on her bed, which is a double bed and therefore twice the size of any of her siblings' beds. After a moment of silence, Ginny turns on her side, props her head on her hand and asks, "What about you? You'll have to live with a boy, too, you know."

I feel the butterflies fluttering around, but they seem kind of sleepy, as if knowing that Ginny also has reservations about living with Harry has put them at ease.

"Honestly? It's terrifying," this is the most honest I've been about the moving in/wedding jitters I've been since Ron's proposal over a month ago. "I mean, I've lived with Ron before, but Harry was there the whole time. We weren't even dating then, either. I just don't know what to expect."

"Yeah, but isn't that what makes it so great?" Ginny asks excitedly.

"I suppose so."

"I'm going to miss this. Girl time," Ginny explains at my look of confusion.

After a moment, I respond, "Me, too," and slowly we fall asleep in her bed as if we are children at a slumber party.

* * *

Mrs. Weasley bursts into Ginny's room at 7 to wake us up.

"UP! Get up, girls! We have a wedding to get ready for!" She bustles around the room, picking up dirty clothes from yesterday that are lying on the floor, opening, the curtains, and straightening the camp bed so that Ginny's room will be presentable since we are using it as the dressing room for Ginny and the bridesmaids.

Unlike Ginny's usually way of waking up and greeting people (a well versed 'ugh'), she jumps out of bed, grabs her bathrobe, slippers, and towel, and runs for the bathroom to get the first shower.

"I've never seen her that awake in the morning," I observe, flabbergasted.

"Oh, she's just used to getting the last shower when she had to share the bathroom with everyone else. I made sure to tell everybody that no one was to use the shower until Ginny had gotten her chance. She really didn't need to run. Although, Audrey seemed a bit put off by my demand."

Mrs. Weasley shrugs her shoulders, clearly indifferent to Audrey's disdain towards some of the aspects of life at The Burrow. I get out of bed and help Mrs. Weasley straighten the sheets and fluff the pillows. As she picks up an old stuffed unicorn off the floor to place in on the bed in front of the plethora of pillows Ginny has, I hear her choke back a sob and notice a bit of moisture welling up in her eye.

"Are you okay, Mrs. Weasley?" I ask timidly, afraid to ruin the moment, but not wanting to seem insensitive by not saying anything.

She sighs and sets the unicorn down, wiping her eyes. "Oh, yes. I'm fine. It's just that Fred and George gave her that toy when they went to Hogwarts. She was so torn up over them leaving. She'd been aware of her other brothers going off to school, of course. She was eight when Fred and George went, and it was the first time she realized that she'd be the only one home in a few years. They asked me if I could make them a stuffed toy to give to her, so I made this unicorn out of old scraps of fabric. She carried this around until they came back at Christmas time. If only Fred could be here today, he'd be so proud of her."

A tear falls down her cheek, and I feel a few tears gathering in my own eyes, blurring my vision. However, I can see enough to know that Ginny has returned from the shower. She's standing in the doorway, and it's obvious that she is crying, mostly because she sniffles and says, "Mum, you're not supposed to make me cry on my wedding day. No tears until the actual ceremony!"

Mrs. Weasley gives her daughter a whimpery smile and pulls her into a hug. I feel like I'm intruding on a mother-daughter moment, so I pull on my own bathrobe and head out into the hallway, shutting the door behind me.

"Morning," I hear a familiar voice on the stairs behind me, and I turn to see that it's Ron.

"Good morning, Ron," I say with a smile. He reaches the landing where I am standing outside the bathroom door and pulls me into a tight embrace with his arms wrapped around my torso, his fingers laced at the small of my back. I rest my hands on his shoulders and play with the collar of his shirt.

"How's my sister doing?"

"Good so far. Only a few tears."

"Why? Does she want to call of the wedding? I'll go tell Harry right now," He offers with almost a hint of excitement.

I can feel him actually moving to go back up the stairs, so I tug on his shirt and give him a stern, "Ronald. She is more than excited to be marrying Harry today. She's just having a moment with your mum about Fred."

"Oh," he responds, and I can see his shoulders slump as he remembers his brother who couldn't be here for this momentous day. I hook my finger under his chin and bring it down to my level so I can kiss him and try to cheer him up. He doesn't respond at first, but then he pulls me closer and tries to deepen the kiss, but I push him away.

"Ron," I blush. "Not on the stairs where your family could see. Besides, you have morning breath."

"I do not," he argues defensively.

"Oh please, Ronald. I've woken up next to you enough times to know that you have terrible breath in the morning."

"Fine, then let me into the bathroom so I can brush my teeth."

He goes to reach around me to open the door, but my hand is already on the knob. I twist it and back in as I say, "Sorry, ladies first!"

With a smile at his adorably disgruntled expression, I shut and lock the door and begin to take care of my own morning hygiene routine.

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked it! Next chapter is Harry and Ginny's wedding!


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!

* * *

**Chapter 19**

"Hermione, can you hand me my bouquet?" Ginny asks pointing at the white roses tied together with an emerald green ribbon lying on her bed. She is basically frozen in place as Mrs. Weasley buttons the back of her dress and Angelina adjusts her veil.

"Yes of course," I respond picking up the flowers and returning to her side to give them to her. She looks absolutely stunning. Her long hair is flowing in loose waves and just brushes the top of the low back of her dress. Her make up isn't overdone yet it accentuates her features perfectly. And of course the dress looks marvelous on her slender, Quidditch-toned frame.

Ginny gives me a weird look and says, "What are you staring at?"

"Oh, sorry. You just look so pretty," I say quickly and try to busy myself with getting myself ready, even though I have nothing left to do. My hair is pulled back into an intricate bun, the frizz is all smoothed out with a potion I made last week, my make up is finished, and I'm already wearing my dress, shoes, and jewelry. So instead of doing anything useful, I just dither about the room until there's a knock at the door and Mr. Weasley walks in with his hand over his eyes.

"Is everyone decent?"

Ginny rolls her eyes and tells her dad he can look. When he puts his hand down sees his daughter in her wedding dress, his eyes automatically fill with tears, threatening to spill over.

"Oh, wow! Ginny, you look beautiful," he compliments through a watery smile.

In attempt to keep herself from tearing up, Ginny rolls her eyes again and half whines, "Dad, it's just a wedding dress."

I feel that Angelina, Luna, and I are intruding on a family moment, so I announce, "We need to go downstairs and make sure that our flowers are ready. Luna? Angelina?"

We go to leave, but Ginny calls me back, "Hermione? Make sure Harry's ready. And see if there's anything you can do about his hair!"

I give her a salute and head down the stairs to the kitchen where Ginny's brothers minus Ron are waiting around without much to do. Angelina and Luna have already picked up their flowers and are pinning the boutonnieres to the boys' dress robes, since they can't seem to figure them out.

"Where are Harry and Ron?" I ask George over Angelina's shoulder as she almost stabs him with a pin.

"In the family room. Probably declaring their undying love for each other one last time before Harry is officially chained to my sister."

I roll my eyes, but laugh inside because he's probably right. Those boys are almost too close to each other sometimes. I pick up two of the flowers and a few pins so that I can give them to Ron and Harry.

I walk into the other room where I see Harry and Ron in what can only be described as a "man hug".

"Wow, George was right."

They step away awkwardly; Harry ruffles the back of his hair as he always does when he's embarrassed.

"About what?" Ron asks, an adorable puzzled expression pulling at his features.

"Oh, just that you two were having one last lovey dovey moment before Harry is officially off the market."

"Oh please," Ron gets defensive. "I was just welcoming him to the family."

His tone tells me that we were basically right since he does that thing where his voice goes up and down because he's trying to regain composure when someone's caught him in a lie.

"Uh huh," I shake my head and change the subject. Holding up the boutonnieres I ask, "Who's first?"

Ron steps forward, volunteering himself. I pin the white rose to the chest of his dress robes and smile up at him when I'm done. "You're all set," I proclaim with a light pat on his chest.

"Thanks, I'm going to go check on my brothers in the kitchen," he explains, and with a nod in Harry's direction and a kiss on my cheek he shuffles out of the room.

"I can't believe you're getting married," I sigh as I pin the flower to Harry's dress robes. "I never thought we would have all made it to this stage."

"It was looking a little shaky there for a while, what with Voldemort and the Death Eaters wanting to kill us and all," Harry jokes.

"Harry," I admonish, "You know what I mean. It seems like only yesterday we were all meeting on the Hogwarts Express, and now we're real live adults."

There's a moment of fond silence as we reflect on the last twelve years we've spent together. I can feel myself getting teary eyed just as Harry says, "None of us could have made it here without you, Hermione. You have no idea how thankful I am that we decided to befriend you after that whole troll thing."

The tears really start to flow now. "Hey, I wouldn't have made it past Halloween if you two hadn't saved me that night."

"Well, I think we're more than even," Harry tries to put a stop to the back and forth that always happens when we get on this subject.

"You really are like a brother to me, you know," I say between sniffles.

Harry pulls me into a tight, friendly hug. "I know, and you're like a sister to me. Ron may be my best friend and soon to be brother in law, but I'll always have your back. I'm ready to beat him up if I have to."

I genuinely laugh at this revelation. "I think it would cause _you_ more physical pain to harm Ron than it would him. You two are far too close to ever be able to actually fight each other. I appreciate the thought though." I busy myself with trying to flatten his hair as Ginny instructed.

"Hey, neither of us has any siblings, we've got to watch out for each other." Harry winks down at me as I try to get one particularly nasty piece to lay flat, he winces as I pull on it a little bit.

"Well, anyways, today is not about me. You are getting married! Are you nervous?" I ask, trying to change the subject, while also gaining perspective on how my friends are all okay with getting married.

"A little," Harry admits.

"Why?"

"What if I let her down again? What if I'm not good enough for her? I love Ginny so much and I want to spend the rest of my life with her, but I'm afraid something will happen and I'll have to leave her or hurt her. I'm scared to marry her, knowing that that could happen. It doesn't seem fair to her."

My heart melts at the genuine look of concern on his face. My hands stop their task of fixing his hair and fall to my sides.

"Harry," I say softly, "like you said, you love Ginny and you want to spend the rest of your life with her. After all that you have been through, you deserve to be happy, even if it seems selfish. And I can assure you that Ginny wants to be with you, too. Being married just means you have no choice but to protect her and keep her safe, something you've always done. You'll never truly be able to hurt her as long as you are together."

"How did you get to be so wise?" Harry asks.

"Well, I was born that way. As you know, the Sorting Hat almost put me in Ravenclaw…" I trail off and stop because I see Harry is laughing at me since I missed his joke. "You're teasing me. Great."

"Really, Hermione thanks for that little speech. It helps. We've all been through a lot, and we do deserve to be happy. You and Ron, too."

I gulp back the butterflies that seem to be trying to escape. I agree with him, but my voice sounds shaky.

Harry acknowledges my apparent jitters and says, "We still need to talk about why you're so nervous about this wedding thing. Don't think I haven't caught onto you changing the subject whenever it comes up and the fact that you have the same facial expression you used to get before a particularly nasty exam when someone mentions the future."

He's basically confirmed my suspicion that he's known how nervous I am about marrying Ron since the very start.

"When did _you_ get so wise?" I ask half jokingly. "But that's a conversation for another time. Today is your wedding, and I think Ginny's brothers, my fiancé," I gulp back another butterfly, "included, will start to think we've run off together if we're alone in here any longer. Besides, your hair refused to look tidy, so my efforts here have been fruitless. Are you ready?"

With a deep breath in and out, Harry says with the most conviction I've ever heard from him, "I've never been this ready in my entire life."

* * *

The ceremony is short, but lovely. A traditional wizarding ceremony, since Harry never went to a Muggle church, and Ginny has only ever known wizarding traditions. Harry's aunt and uncle did not come, though he invited them, but Dudley made the trip and is talking intently with Lavender Brown, who Ginny swears is only here in case of any dress faux pas. Other than him, the other guests are a mix of Weasley relatives, old members of the Order, Harry and Ginny's work friends, and a few of our school friends. They meant for the guest list to be short, but once Mrs. Weasley got a hold of it, it quickly grew quite long. However, Ginny and Harry both insisted on strict charms and detection spells to keep out any paparazzi or guests who would leak photographs or information to the newspapers. The only article to be written about the wedding will be put together by Padma Patil and then approved by Harry and Ginny before it goes to the Prophet.

Once the tent is reorganized for the reception, the dancing begins almost immediately. Even though Harry hates using his celebrity status to get favors, he asked the Weird Sisters to perform since he knows how much Ginny loves them. Hagrid told Harry that his parents' first dance was to "The Way You Look Tonight" since it was apparently Harry's mum's favorite. Harry and Ginny agreed that it would be their first song as well to pay tribute to his parents, so he had the Weird Sisters learn it and cover it tonight.

After an appropriate amount of time during Harry and Ginny's first dance, Ron holds out his hand to me and asks, "Hermione, would you do me the pleasure of giving me this dance?"

I just smile and grab his hand, letting him lead me onto the dance floor alongside his parents and his siblings and their spouses or dates. Ron's right arm holds my waist tightly while his left hand holds my right gently between us.

We're swaying gently to the music when he leans down and whispers in my ear, "You look lovely today, 'Mione."

I feel myself blush and mumble embarrassedly, "Thank you, but I'm really nothing next to Ginny."

"Hermione, I know the bride is supposed to be the most beautiful woman in the room on her wedding day, but you'll always be the most gorgeous girl in the world. Even if the bride is my sister and I'm obligated to think she's beautiful."

"You're just saying that because you're hoping to get laid tonight," I chuckle.

His tone is more serious when he replies, "I'm being serious, Hermione. You need to give yourself more credit."

I just stand on my tiptoes to kiss him in thanks. He pulls away too soon and explains, "Don't want to steal Harry and Ginny's thunder. Especially since you look this good and people are likely watching you instead of her as it is."

I just roll my eyes, but he continues, "Besides, people will have plenty of time to watch us when it's our wedding."

"Right," I giggle nervously, thankful that the music changes to a fast song at this instant the couples begin to separate so that everyone can dance together.

There is enough food to feed Ron's immediate family and his extended family three times over. The music is fantastic. The alcohol is flowing freely. The company is friendly and jovial. Needless to say, Harry and Ginny's wedding is the most fun anyone has had in a long time. After I've danced with all of Ron's brothers and Ron multiple times (the Weasley family makes it a point to dance with everyone, not just your own date even if you're the bride and groom), I find myself dancing with Harry on one of the last slow songs of the reception before Harry and Ginny leave for their honeymoon.

"Congratulations, Harry," I say cheerfully as Harry clumsily spins my around the dance floor.

"Thanks, Hermione."

"Are you happy?" I ask.

His smile that's been plastered on his face since he first saw Ginny in her dress is enough answer, but he responds, "I've never been happier."

"Good. You deserve it."

We dance the rest of the song quietly, making small talk every once in a while but mostly just enjoying each other's company. The party winds down quickly, and Ginny asks me to come upstairs with her to help her change. After I've finished unbuttoning her dress and she steps out of it and begins to redress in jeans and a T-shirt, I feel myself begin to get choked up as I hang up her dress.

"Hermione, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing. Everything's going to be different now. You and Harry are married now. I'm so happy for you, don't get me wrong, but Harry, Ron, and I won't be 'The Golden Trio' anymore. They were the first friends I ever had, and it's not like we're friends anymore. There are all of these new complicated relationships involved."

"And those complicated relationships make us family," Ginny cuts me off before I can ramble any longer. "Not that we weren't one before. It's just official now, or will be once you marry Ron. And you three will always be The Golden Trio. That's what they call you in the history books for Merlin's sake! And if you ever need time with Harry, you know I don't mind. He'd come running if you ever need anything. That is if Ron didn't get to you first."

I chuckle, feeling comforted by her kind words.

"I'm going to miss living with you, Gin. It's been nice to be girly every once in a while. After being friends with Harry and Ron for so long, I tend to get sucked into 'guy things' quite a lot."

"Try growing up with six brothers!"

We both laugh. After Ginny's made sure all of her things are packed, she pulls me into a tight hug.

"We'll just have to make sure we make lots of time for the two of us. Besides we still have the last half of season three of Buffy as well as four through seven. There's no way I could get Harry to watch that with me."

"Very true," I laugh. "We should get back downstairs. Don't want to keep your husband waiting."

Her eyes light up warmly when I call Harry her husband. She grabs her bag and we go downstairs into the kitchen where the Weasleys have congregated after the guests left. I go to stand by Ron's side while Ginny goes to Harry who has also changed into travelling clothes. Ron wraps an arm around me and squeezes my shoulder has he pull me to him and kisses the top of my head.

"I can't believe they're married," I say, still awestruck.

"I'm relieved, to tell you the truth. Now I don't have to pretend he's not doing my sister."

* * *

A/N: Thanks for all of your reviews on the last chapter! It's Harry and Ginny's wedding and I hope you liked it. In other news, just watched A Very Potter Senior Year. Laughed, cried, squealed. So fantastic. I'm sad it's over though :(


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!

* * *

**Chapter 20**

Once Harry and Ginny have left for their honeymoon to a private island in the Caribbean, Mrs. Weasley mobilizes the rest of us to help clean up. The boys are all on tent duty, and all of the daughters-in-law and girlfriends have to help with the dishes and putting away leftovers. I end up talking to Angelina since I don't talk to Fleur or Audrey very often.

"Quidditch practices are going to be bloody boring without Ginny for the next week," Angelina grumbles as I hand her another dry dish and put away. The Weasleys have acquired enough china to serve an army with since they've now hosted three weddings and decided buying their own was easier than borrowing it. I've been tasked with drying the dishes once Fleur has rinsed them and then Angelina puts them in the boxes to be stored.

"The Harpies seem pretty lively to me. Practice can't be too dull without Ginny."

"No, they're all great, but Ginny is just so great to watch. It's so much more exciting watching her than some of the others. I think that's really why Gwenog's mad at her for getting married and going on this trip. She won't be able to make up any cool new plays for a week."

"Well, it's only a week."

"Yes, but then Ginny will eventually get pregnant and leave the team."

"Oh, I'm sure that won't be for a while," I say, shocked that Angelina is already talking about Ginny having children.

"Oh no, 'Ermione," Fleur chimes in. She's clearly been listening to our conversation this whole time. "Once you are married, you can't wait to 'ave a baby. All you want eez to 'ave a family of your own."

"But Ginny loves her job so much, she wouldn't just give that up so she could have a baby!" I'm now completely flabbergasted.

"Eet eez more complicated than giving up a job. Eet eez a matter of wanting to make a life with your new 'usband. When you are married to Ron, you weel see."

I gulp back a butterfly and just hand Angelina another plate as she proclaims, "I give them a year. If Ginny isn't pregnant by then, I'll quit my job."

Mrs. Weasley comes into the kitchen to check on us, saving me from this terrifying conversation.

"How are things in here, girls? The tent is nearly taken down and the tables and chairs are all folded up outside."

"We're almost done," Audrey announces proudly, splashing soap onto the floor as she hands Fleur the last plate to rinse.

"Wonderful. Once you're all done, you can feel free to head up to bed!"

Even though we're all grown adults who aren't even related to her by blood, she still talks to us as if we're her children. We're all staying in The Burrow again tonight since it's past midnight and there's much more space now that there are three less people (Charlie's date left earlier in the evening).

I'm getting ready for bed in Ginny's room, when I hear a knock on the door.

"Just a minute," I call, just loud enough so that whoever's in the hall will hear me but hopefully my voice won't carry to anyone sleeping nearby. I finish taking the last of the bobby pins out of my hair and it automatically frizzes out of control. "Lovely," I mumble to myself and wrap my hair loosely in a low bun as I go to answer the door.

"Ron," I say, surprised even though there's no one else who would come visit me in the middle of the night.

"Hey," he responds with a smile. "I was just brushing my teeth and thought I'd come say hello."

"Okay," I trail off, a bit confused since we already said good night when he came in from cleaning up.

"And I wanted to see if you wanted to stay in my room tonight."

"Ron, I really don't think that's appropriate with your parents here and all."

"Well it's better than being in Ginny's room," Ron jokes as he closes the distance between us to rest his hands on my hips. He begins kissing my neck as he pushes his way into Ginny's room, trying to make his point.

"Ronald," I chastise him, but it comes out as more of a moan. How embarrassing. "You're not going to stop until I say yes," I state the obvious. He nods in response, but doesn't stop his attentions to the spot just above my collarbone, so he just ends up tickling me with his nose. "Fine, then," I groan.

He leads me out onto the landing, and I make sure to shut Ginny's door quietly. We creep up the stairs in silence, Ron pointing out all of the spots that creak so I don't accidently step on one. Once we're in Ron's room, he shuts his door carelessly, making too much noise.

"Ron," I giggle. "Someone will hear us!"

"No they won't. Top of the house remember? My parents are below me, but they can sleep through almost anything. Kind of surprising considering they've been through two wars."

He resumes kissing my neck as he leads me to his bed, which is much too small for two people. The events that transpire next are more creative than we would usually be considering our space limitations. Afterwards, I'm playing with a thread on Ron's old Chudley Cannons blanket he's pulled over us while Ron lazily strokes my arm.

"I knew I'd get laid tonight," Ron proclaims.

I smack his arm and point out, "Only because I was trying to save Ginny's room from what you'd do to it if I didn't follow you up here."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he says innocently. After a moment of silence he speaks again. "I used to imagine doing this all of the time."

"What? Making love while your whole family was asleep in the same house?" I scoff.

"No! Spending the night with you in my room."

"That's a strange fantasy," I try not to show my confusion in my voice, but he knows me too well.

"Yeah, it's weird. But back in sixth year, I didn't know of any other place we could go!"

I laugh at his defense of his earlier statement.

"Okay, I'll give you that much."

I turn so that I'm facing him, making it a bit of a tighter squeeze on the bed, so I cuddle into his chest and tuck my head below his chin.

"Hey, you've literally just made my dreams come true," Ron chuckles, and I join him.

We are quiet for a second before he says, "You make my dreams come true every day, Hermione."

I try to look up at his face, but only get a view up his nostrils, so I tuck my head back in its spot and say, "Me too, Ron."

He kisses the top of my head, and we slowly drift off to sleep.

* * *

In the morning, I wake up just as the sun is rising, as if I know I have to be awake by a certain time so that I can sneak back into Ginny's room undetected. I extract myself from Ron's arms and go to put my pajamas back on. As I move to get off the bed, Ron stirs and wakes up enough to realize what's going on.

"Don't go," he says sleepily.

"I have to. I don't want your mum to find out."

"Oh please, they already know we're sleeping together."

"Well, they don't have to know we're doing it under their roof," I point out as I pull on my tank top and begin looking around for my shorts and dressing gown.

Ron must realize what I'm doing since he points and says dejectedly, "By the door."

"Thank you," I say kindly as I pull on the rest of my clothes. "Now, go back to sleep. I'll see you at breakfast in a few hours."

As I walk back down to Ginny's room, trying not to disturb the floor creaks that Ron showed me last night, I see George's door open and try to hide myself around the corner. I catch a glimpse of the back of the person leaving the room and notice that it's Angelina.

"Hey," I whisper loud enough for her to hear me. She jumps about three feet in the air, and I can see her trying to hold back the curses that threaten to come flying out of her mouth.

"Merlin! Hermione, what are you doing up?"

"Apparently the same thing as you." I've now reached the same landing as her and we continue the descent together.

"George convinced Charlie to sleep on the couch, so we did the old switcheroo once everyone was asleep. I see that we weren't the only ones with that idea."

" I guess not."

"Well, now I have to go wake up Charlie and make him go back upstairs. This should be interesting."

"Surely. This is my stop," I say once we've reached Ginny's room. "I'll see you later."

I shut the door behind me and go to get into Ginny's bed. As I'm pulling the covers up, I hear the faintest "Merlin, Angelina!" signaling that Charlie must be awake now. I fall asleep surprisingly quickly and wake up a few hours later to the smell of bacon frying in the kitchen. I pull my dressing gown back on and slip into my slippers then go downstairs to the kitchen.

"Good morning, dear! Did you sleep well?" Mrs. Weasley asks as she sets down a cup of tea for me at the spot next to where Ron is already seated.

He catches my eye and I feel myself blush as I respond, "Yes, very well."

I can see that his shoulders are shaking since he's trying not to laugh, so I step on his foot under the table and ask as sweetly as possibly, "Pass the sugar, Ronald?"

He just scowls and hands me the pot of sugar.

Once everything from last night has been stored safely and we've gotten off of a Floo call with Harry and Ginny, ensuring that they're safe and sound, Ron and I get our things together to leave. He apparates back to my place with me. I say my place because he's not moving in until Harry and Ginny are back from their honeymoon.

"Well I guess I'll see you at work tomorrow for lunch?" He asks as if it's even a question.

"Of course. Try not to miss me too much," I tease, playing with the lapels on his jacket.

"That shouldn't be too hard," he jokes. I smack his arm.

"Ronald! For that, you get no goodbye kiss."

"I'd like to see you try that," he mocks as he begins to playfully wrestle me until he has me in a position where I have no choice but to give in.

"Goodbye, Ron," I say between giggles.

"Bye, 'Mione. You do realize that soon we won't have to say goodbye like this."

"Yes, Ron, I was top our class, I did reach that conclusion," I point out teasingly, but feel my hand shake a bit as I unlock the door.

He chuckles. Once I've opened the door, he says, "I'll see you tomorrow," and gives me one last goodbye kiss. After I shut the door, I throw my bag down on the floor of the entryway, and walk into the flat, which is now mine for a week. The last week of not living with Ron that I will ever have.

* * *

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this bit of Romione fluff! I don't know if you noticed but I originally had Charlie sleeping in two different places in chapter 18, which is clearly not even possible (unless he has a time turner). So I went back and fixed that. If you didn't even notice and now I'm pointing out my flaws, then I feel like and idiot for even bringing it up. I'm going to stop rambling now! I'm hoping to update again soon, but my thesis is keeping me really busy lately, so I hardly have time to write. Reviews are always welcome and thanks for all of the wonderful reviews on the last chapter!


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!

* * *

**Chapter 21**

Harry and Ginny return from their honeymoon the Friday after the wedding since Ginny's big Quidditch match is the next day. I'm reading on the couch when I hear the door unlock and two sets of feet enter the flat.

"We're home!" Ginny calls.

"Really? I couldn't tell," I say with a smile as I get up to greet them both with a hug. "How was the Caribbean?"

"Well, if you can't tell by my tan, it was fantastic," Ginny boasts, holding out her usually ivory arm for me to admire her less pale complexion.

"We got you something!" Harry chimes in. He opens his suitcase, pulls out his wand and summons my gift.

"It's so nice to use magic again," Ginny proclaims. They stayed on an island owned by a muggle resort so that they would be out of the way of the prying eyes of witches and wizards and the paparazzi. "While the honeymoon was a-MA-zing," she stresses the middle syllable, "it was not easy being a muggle for a week."

Harry just chuckles at her side as he hands me a small gift. I pull a small jewelry box out of the bag and give them a confused look. I open the box and see that it contains little pink earrings in the shape of flowers.

"They're carved out of seashells by a jewelry maker we found in a market one day," Ginny explains.

"They're lovely. Thank you, both! Would you like some tea? I made a pot not too long ago, it should still be warm."

They look at each other awkwardly before Ginny says, "Erm, we'd love to, but we kind of want to get me moved out an into Grimmauld Place."

"Oh of course," I respond, slightly embarrassed by my forgetfulness. They are a newlywed couple back from their honeymoon. Obviously they want to get settled in at their (albeit temporary until they've fixed up the house in Godric's Hollow) home. To alleviate the awkwardness, I add, "I should go clean out some space in my room anyways. Ron will want to move in today as well, I suppose."

Honestly, I pushed the idea of Ron moving in to the back of my mind all week. Sure he spent the night here twice since Ginny was gone, but I've been busy with work, so I haven't had the time to dwell on it. Harry looks at me funny when I say "suppose" since he already knows something is going on, but Ginny doesn't take notice as she practically skips to her room to pack up her things. Within an hour, and with the help of magic, we've packed up Ginny's belongings, leaving only her bare bed and dresser sitting depressingly in her empty room.

"It's rather sad," Ginny sighs. "It truly is the end of an era." She looks at me with a teary smile, the memories we've shared here catching up with her.

"And the start of a new one," I remind her, more for my own benefit than hers. I notice her glance at Harry over my shoulder and smile as she watches him stacking boxes precariously by the front door.

She looks back at me and says, "For you, too. Oh, I can't wait for you and Ron to finally get married so we can actually be sisters." She pulls me into a hug so tight I feel myself gasp for breath over the butterflies sent aflutter by her proclamation.

She adds, "Marriage is absolutely fantastic."

"I'm sure," I giggle nervously as she releases me.

"Are you ready, Gin? I don't think this box tower is going to remain standing for long," Harry calls from the entryway.

I chuckle at his muggle-like actions. I go to help him and say, "You know there's a charm for that?"

"Right, magic," Harry grunts while trying to hold up a pile of four boxes stacked on top of each other.

"Let me through. _Reducio!_"

I point my wand at the boxes and they shrink down to pocket size.

"How cute!" Ginny exclaims. "Conveniently travel sized. However, I don't think my clothes will fit me now."

"This way you can put them in your pockets and won't need to make more than one trip. Just use _engorgio_ when you're at Grimmauld place. Just don't be too enthusiastic or you'll end up with Hagrid sized dresses."

"I can remember that," Ginny says proudly. "Well, I guess that's everything."

"I suppose so."

"Oh, Hermione," Ginny gasps through tears which are suddenly streaming afresh from her eyes. She hugs me one more time and whispers in my ear, "Thanks for being such an amazing roommate. I really can't wait to be your sister."

"Same," I choke through a sob, and for once the butterflies don't act up at the mention of becoming a Weasley.

* * *

"Hermione! I'm home!" Ron calls as he unlocks the door with the key Ginny passed on to him. Since we live in a muggle apartment building, we use both muggle keys and charms to lock up the flat. It's surprising the amount of witches and wizards who are deterred by an old fashioned key.

I scurry out of the kitchen to greet him, flour on my face from the cupcakes I'm making for him as a welcome present. He picks me up and twirls me around once I've reached him, all while kissing me quite thoroughly, making my head spin in double time.

"Mmm, what was that for?" I ask, not that I'm disappointed or anything.

"Just excited to finally be living in _our_ apartment."

"Technically you're not on the lease yet, so it's currently my apartment, but close enough."

I throw my arms around his neck and resume our kissing from moments before, realizing I've really missed him in the twenty-four hours since I saw him at work yesterday. After a minute, he pulls away and gives me a skeptical look.

"Have you been baking?"

"Yes," I respond confusedly. "Why do you ask?"

"You're always, erm, _happier_, when you bake, if you know what I mean."

"Ronald!" I smack his arm, which he removes from my waist so that he can rub the sore spot. He'll probably have a permanent bruise there from me eventually. "If you must know, I was making you cupcakes to welcome you to the flat. I'm in a good mood because I'm genuinely happy to see you."

"Now there's something you don't hear everyday. Can I get that in writing?"

I roll my eyes. "Honestly, Ron. Can't a girl just be happy to see her fiancé?"

Again, the butterflies don't act up. I don't understand what's going on. Has some switch that makes nervous stomach butterflies go mad been flipped off? What's even more surprising is that I'm the one to have brought up the subject of marriage.

"Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?" Ron asks laughingly.

Under my breath, I mutter to myself, "I'm wondering the same thing."

We've made our way to the kitchen, where I resume frosting the pumpkin cupcakes. Ron sits at the table and tries to sneak licks of the cream cheesey deliciousness while I'm not looking. I smack his hand away every time.

"Merlin, 'Mione! Our kids are never going to want to bake with you!" He gets a successful lick of frosting as I'm suddenly thrown off by the resurgence of the butterflies.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Ron. We aren't even married yet," I chuckle nervously.

"I know that," he allows. "But you can't deny the idea of a little frizzy haired girl with my eyes running around does sound adorable."

He stands up to wrap his arms around my waist and look down at me with the most loving smile I've ever seen. My heart does melt a little at this idea. I'd never thought about having kids like that before.

"As long as her hair is flaming red," I imagine out loud, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. He leans down to kiss me and the moment quickly moves from sweet to passionate. I pull away when I get the chance and scold him.

"Ron, we can't do this in the kitchen."

"Why not? There's no one stopping us."

He captures my lips in another kiss but I pull away again, once he's backed me up towards the table as if he's about to lift me onto it.

"Ron, the cupcakes."

"You can make more. We need to christen our new apartment."

"I will not make those again and we've already done it in this apartment, we don't need to 'christen' it."

"Yes, but never in the kitchen." He smiles mischievously at me after nonverbally levitating all of the cupcakes to the counter when I wasn't looking. He succeeds in getting me on the table and I respond with a surprised "Ronald!", but he ignores me and I'll admit I don't try to stop him.

* * *

"That was very clever of you. Moving the cupcakes," I say after taking a big bite of one.

"It's bound to happen," he chuckles. "What room is next?"

He waggles his eyebrows at me suggestively, but I just secure the buttons of his shirt to make sure I'm completely covered.

"I think we've been adventurous enough for one day." I feel my face redden, so I just play with the wrapper of my cupcake. Ron reaches up from the floor to grab a second one from the counter.

"I suppose you're right," he grumbles.

"There's always the bedroom, though," I tease, getting up from my spot on the floor. I grab the plate of cupcakes and hold them out enticingly for Ron to follow. Although, I know he'd follow even if I didn't have food since I'm only wearing the button down shirt he was wearing when he arrived.

Behind me, I hear him say excitedly, "Isn't that the truth!"

* * *

A/N: Sorry this took so long to update. School has been extremely busy! So a lot of the "drama" of Hermione's feelings about marriage will be coming to a head soon, I'm just not sure when I'll get the chance to update again since the end of the semester is always insane. Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing!


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

* * *

**Chapter 22**

We wake up early on Saturday to unpack Ron's things before Ginny's game. He's brought so much stuff with him I can't imagine why he needs it all.

"Ron, do you really need the last eleven years worth of _Seeker Weekly_?" I ask pulling an enormous stack out of the box I've just returned to its actual size.

"Of course I do!" Ron exclaims. I just raise my eyebrows at him in response. "Harry gave me a subscription to it for my twelfth birthday," he mumbles.

My heart melts at how sweet he can be. I walk around the jumble of boxes we've already emptied and wrap my arms around his waist. Looking up into his eyes I ask, "Did you keep everything I've gotten you for your birthday?"

"And Christmas," he announces with a smile.

"Even the date book I gave you in fifth year?"

"Even that." He leans down to give me a kiss.

After a moment I pull away and remark, "That still doesn't change the fact that you're a pack rat."

"You're the one who won't sacrifice any of your closet space for me," he accuses.

"Just because my two best friends when I was younger were boys and I care more about books than fashion does not mean I have to give up my shoe collection. I'm still a girl," I defend myself.

Ron chuckles and says, "Thank Merlin for that."

I shake my head and we continue to unpack.

"Besides," I add after a short while, "you can use Ginny's closet."

"So all of my stuff is going to be in a room that's not our bedroom?"

"Well it's certainly not going to fit in our bedroom!"

"What if we got rid of some of your stuff, too? Then it would be a fair trade," he offers.

I stare at him blankly.

"Hermione, we are living _together_. This is not your apartment anymore. It's _ours_. And don't say it's technically still yours since only your name is on the lease," he cuts me off before I can interrupt. "I'm signing that thing first chance I get so that you can't use that as an excuse. We have to learn to share space."

"That doesn't mean I'm happy about it," I grumble, thinking about the bookshelves he's probable going to make me get rid of so that he can get his own dresser for the bedroom.

Suddenly he's beside me and he pulls me into his chest, wrapping his arms around me.

"What if we move your bookshelves into Ginny's room and make it into a study? Then there's more space for my things in the bedroom and I can store my _Seeker Weekly _copies in the study."

"You could put your books in there, too," I allow.

"You think I have books?" He teases.

"I know you do. I gave them to you for your birthday presents and you've kept them all."

We both smile as he kisses me.

"Touché, Granger."

* * *

The Quidditch match is at Puddlemere's home stadium. We arrive an hour early with Harry and the rest of the Weasley family. The press is out in full force today not only because of the importance of this game, but also because it is Ginny's first match as Mrs. Potter. Ron and I flank Harry on either side as we enter the arena in an attempt to stop some of the reporters from bothering him. It's a good thing we arrived so early because it takes us nearly that long to get to our seats with the rest of the friends and family of the players. I've never seen this many people at one of Ginny's matches. The newspapers have been buzzing with the possibility of an offer for Ginny to play on England's team in the World Cup if today goes well, so it seems like all of her fans have come to show their support.

I'm sitting between Ron and Victoire who apparently is Quidditch expert already. Fleur is next to her, holding Dominique. Bill, Charlie, Percy, and George are all directly behind us and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are next to Harry. The game goes by rather quickly, and it's the most amusing game I've ever been to, not because of the actual game, but because of Victoire's running commentary of every little move by Ginny and her teammates.

"With a near shutout from the Harpies' keeper, United needs to catch the snitch soon if they want to win," Lee Jordan's commentary overpowers Victoire's adorable babbling, and I feel obligated to listen. "The Harpies are up 170 to 20. If United catches the snitch now, we end in a tie. Chaser Weasley is on fire today scoring 10 of the Harpies' 17 goals."

"Snitch!" Victoire suddenly cries, jumping on her seat and pointing at the sky. Sure enough, a small golden dot can be seen zooming towards the Puddlemere seeker, and there's no way Melinda can reach it for the Harpies. "Ginny!" Victoire shouts again, pointing at the Puddlemere goal posts where Oliver Wood is staring at his seeker oblivious to Ginny zooming towards him and getting in one last goal.

"Weasley scores again, and Hubbard doesn't have enough time to react, catching the snitch and ending the game. The Harpies win 180 to 170, clinching the league title for the Holyhead Harpies."

We hear the sound of papers shuffling and suddenly Lee's voice is back.

"I've just received word that the Quidditch Association of England is putting forward an official offer for Ginny Weasley to play on England's World Cup team. If she accepts, she will have to abandon her Harpies robes and don the red and white of England in hopes of playing in next year's Cup. With that, I'm Lee Jordan, thanks for coming out to today's exhilarating match."

I look over at Harry whose jaw has dropped in shock and excitement. Then he's jumping up and down and hugging Ron and me. We eventually make our way onto the field where Ginny sprints towards us, broom in hand and joins us in the hug that doesn't seem to have stopped. Without notice, Harry and Ginny break off from us and start kissing in the middle of the pitch with complete disregard of the flashbulbs going off all around us.

I look up at Ron who is avoiding watching the scene in front of him but doesn't seem too bothered otherwise.

"Ronald, I'm impressed by your maturity right now," I compliment him.

"They're married, so I can't really say anything anymore. I still wish they wouldn't do that in front of me." He gestures to where his best friend stands with his little sister's legs wrapped around his waist as they kiss more passionately than they ever have in public.

"It's not like they haven't seen us do the exact same thing before," I defend them.

"Yes, but I'm older than her and it was never in front of thousands of Quidditch fans and my whole family. And we'll be married soon, so no one can say anything about it." He leans down and kisses me with a smile that I return, masking the butterflies fluttering lazily in my stomach.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this update took so long! I've been so busy with finals, graduation, and moving home and haven't had time to get back to this until now. But, I now have all summer to work on this story so it will definitely be wrapping up soon! Leave a review as a graduation present? Glad to hear people are still enjoying this story! The next two chapters will be more on Hermione's feelings as things come to a head.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

On Wednesday, Ron has a meeting during lunch, so it's just Harry and me at our usual table in the Ministry cafeteria. Just as I'm about to take a bite of the salad I brought, Harry asks a question that makes me drop my fork with a clatter.

"So why don't you want to marry Ron?"

I stammer nonsense for a second, while my brain tries to catch up with my mouth. "Wha-… where… wha-… What makes you think that?"

"Well, your eyes get all shifty like they used to when you had to lie to a professor at school whenever someone asks you about it," he holds up a finger to stop me from interrupting and continues, "Almost like you're lying about being happy about marrying Ron. I thought that's what you wanted, which is why I told him to go for it when he asked me if he should propose."

"Of course I want to marry Ron. I just always thought it would be in the far off, very distant future. I'm only twenty three, for Merlin's sake!"

"I'm twenty three and I'm married. Ginny's only twenty two."

"It just sounds so young," I marvel at the fact that he doesn't understand this point. "When I was younger, I imagined I'd have a career and establish myself as an independent woman before I got married."

Harry laughs. "Leave it to Hermione Granger to be the only muggle girl who didn't dream about marrying a prince and becoming a princess."

"Well, I technically wasn't a muggle girl," I can't resist pointing out.

Harry chuckles and rolls his eyes.

"I worry that I'm settling if I get married now. I don't want to get married and be _just_ Mrs. Weasley. I want to have other accomplishments."

Harry's jaw drops as he tries to find the right words, finally settling on "Let's see, you've helped stop Voldemort on more than one occasion, kept both Ron and me alive for much longer than it would seem the fates had decided for us, and played a major part in saving the Wizarding and muggle world. That's just to name a few."

"Yes, but all of those involve me being 'Harry Potter's clever friend'. Now I sound ungrateful. I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean it like that," I recover.

"No, I know what you meant. But, Hermione, you're in the history books that our children will read someday as 'Hermione Granger: The Cleverest Witch of Her Age'. That's how people know you. Besides, since when do you care what other people think of you?"

"I don't," I defend myself too quickly and fail to cover the blush that's rising in my cheeks and I can feel myself looking anywhere but at Harry. He smiles triumphantly when it's clear that I've lied. "Okay, maybe I do care. But only because I didn't have any friends until you and Ron took me under your wing and even then, I was still a frizzy haired know-it-all. It's hard for people to like me."

"But Ron loves you, and he wants to marry you. Isn't that enough?" He sounds confused, not understanding the hours of thinking I've put into all of this nonsense.

"I know it should be," I sigh, pushing the forgotten, wilting lettuce in front of me around with my fork. "And I know I've made a name for myself, but there's something in the back of my mind that just doesn't trust the idea of marriage. It's so permanent, and for some reason, my brain can't accept that Ron will always want to be with me. After all, I'm just a frizzy haired know-it-all."

I say the last part in defeat. While I feel relief at finally saying what's bothering me out loud, I feel awful that I can even doubt Ron's feelings for me.

Harry looks at me sadly and says, "I've never heard anything further from the truth, which is surprising since _you_ said it. If you really feel like that, though, you need to talk to Ron. I can't fix your insecurities in your relationship."

"I know. Please don't tell any of this to Ron, or Ginny."

He pretends to lock his lips and throw away the key as if we are children. "I won't say a word. It's a good thing neither of them is a great Legilimens though. I never did master Occlumency."

I let out a much-needed laugh at this.

Harry continues, "And for what it's worth, I don't think Ron has ever seen you, or ever could see you, as just a frizzy haired know-it-all. I think that's one of the reasons he loves you."

I feel myself blush again and look down at my salad to try to hide it.

"I think you might be right about that, Harry."

* * *

"Hermione," Ron calls from the entryway when he gets home from work.

"In the bedroom," I shout back as I pull on a sundress for dinner with my parents. Ron enters the room just as I'm about to reach awkwardly around my back to zip it up and comes to my rescue by doing the zipper for me.

"My knight in shining armor," I sigh with only a hint of sarcasm.

He just chuckles and leans down to kiss the back of my neck, which is exposed since I've twisted my hair into a bun on top of my head. The humidity today is not doing me any favors. He wraps his arms around me and asks, "How was your day?"

He continues to place soft kisses on my neck, and I lean back into him letting my worries of the day disappear. I let out a sigh of contentment and answer, "Nothing out of the ordinary. I had lunch with Harry."

"Mmm? What did you talk about?"

My heart skips a beat, and I worry he'll figure out the main topic of conversation.

"Oh, nothing much. Ginny's Quidditch game." I'm only lying a little bit. We did talk about the game after we finished discussing Ron.

"I'm sure you really captured Harry's attention with all of your knowledge of Quidditch," he teases me.

I roll my eyes and turn in his arms so that I'm facing him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"I know plenty about Quidditch."

"That's what you like to think. Why can't you just admit that there are some things you will just never understand?"

"Because it's not true."

Now it's Ron's turn to roll his eyes.

"It's not!" I exclaim again. "I believe with enough effort a person can learn about anything."

"Yes, but maybe you're just not meant to understand Quidditch."

"I find that insulting," I scoff, pushing away from him and going to find my sandals at the bottom of my closet so that I can finish getting ready. "Would you get ready for dinner with my parents already?" I ask, annoyance dripping from my every word.

I hear the floorboards creak as he sneaks up behind me.

Softly, he says, "'Mione, you know I think you're the cleverest girl in the whole world."

He reaches for my arm and pulls me up to stand in front of him. He pushes a loose strand of hair back from my face and I lean into his hand.

"Say I can understand Quidditch."

He rolls his eyes again.

"Don't make me into a liar, Hermione."

"Say it."

"You're being childish."

I give him a look that I know he can't resist and say softly, "Please, Ron?"

"Fine. You could understand the ins and outs of Quidditch if you really wanted to. It would take you a lifetime of reading. But I suppose you could do it."

Even though it's not the answer I wanted, I accept his response and give him a quick kiss to show my approval.

"Now get ready," I say shoving him towards the closet to find his clothes. "We're supposed to be at my parents house in thirty minutes."

He grumbles incoherently for a while as I put on my jewelry. After he's buttoned his shirt, he points out, "You know, I think you already understand Quidditch, but you pretend not to so that I can explain it to you."

I feel myself blush because this is exactly what I used to do at Harry's Quidditch games at Hogwarts. After attending countless matches and reading _Quidditch Through The Ages_ a dozen times, something is bound to stick. I just really enjoy watching Ron feel like the smart one. And it was nice when he would lean in close to explain a play in my ear back when I had a crush on him without him knowing.

"I'm so right!" Ron cries triumphantly.

"Only partially," I mumble. Trying to cover my tracks, but it's too late. "I really don't get all of the nitty-gritty details, but I do understand the general rules of the game. I'll never be a decent flyer though. You'll always have me beat there."

"A fact no one can deny."

* * *

"This hot fudge is delicious, Mum. I can't believe you made it from scratch," I comment as I scrape the bottom of my bowl. After dinner we all moved out onto the patio to enjoy some ice cream sundaes in the twilight.

"You've only been eating it since you could hold a spoon," my dad teases. I see his smile that he saves for me spread across his face in the flickering light of the candles Mum has lit.

"We should have you over to our flat for dinner next week," Ron announces suddenly. I feel myself choke on the nonexistent scrapings of hot fudge I've just spooned into my mouth. I kick him under the table to shut him up. I never actually told my parents that we were moving in together.

"Ow," Ron says loudly, oblivious to my nonverbal message to shut up.

"You're living together?" My dad asks. The candle casts an ominous shadow on his face and I can tell his eyebrows are raised in judgment.

"Oh, Matthew, it's not that surprising. They've been dating for five years," my mom admonishes him.

"But they're not married, Ellen," my dad grumbles angrily.

"You didn't tell them," Ron whispers loudly to me.

"I was hoping they'd never find out," I reply, cringing when I see the disappointment etched on my father's face.

"Matthew, she's twenty three years old. She hasn't lived with us since she finished Hogwarts. Does this really come as that much of a surprise?" My mother sounds dumbfounded at my father's reaction.

Dad splutters unintelligibly for a moment and then concedes with a sigh, "I suppose not."

The tension instantly eases, but I can still feel my dad's scrutinizing gaze on me.

"Anyways," Mum tries to save the conversation, "We'd love to come over for dinner next week. Will you be cooking, Ron?" She asks with a laugh.

"Only if you want to eat cereal for dinner. Hermione's the real cook."

I feel myself blush and turn my attention to playing with my spoon in my empty ice cream bowl as Ron continues chatting with my mother.

When it's time to leave, my dad pulls me into his office for a word.

"Hermione, I don't like the idea of you living with someone before you're married."

"I know, Dad," I mumble, staring at my feet to avoid eye contact as if I'm five years old and just got in trouble again for making all of the books fly off the shelves in the study, an occurrence I later figured out was caused by uncontrolled magic.

"Why couldn't you have waited?"

"Well, it seemed kind of inevitable that we'd end up living in the same place eventually, especially given the fact that we're engaged." I'm starting to get a little bit annoyed that he is being so judgmental of my decision. I am an adult after all.

"And you couldn't have just waited until you were married?"

"What's the point, Dad? We've been dating for five years. You can't really be that naïve," I say angrily.

He's silent for a moment, and then it's his turn to look down embarrassedly. I've never been so forthcoming with the intimate details of Ron's and my relationship, especially with my father.

"Just tell me you're being…careful," he pleads.

I feel the blush rising again and I respond quickly, "Oh Merlin, Dad! I really don't want to have this conversation with you, but believe me you have absolutely nothing to worry about. You won't be having grandchildren for quite a while."

"Well, hopefully not a really long while," he interjects with a smile. "I would like to see them finish Hogwarts at the top of their year, too. Just wait until after you're married for that part, please."

"Of course, Dad." He pulls me in for a hug and I feel like I'm a kid again as I hold on to him as tight as I can.

* * *

A/N: I know I said this chapter would be the big reveal of what's going on with Hermione, but it started getting really long so I split it up into two chapters. At least you got some of what she's feeling here!


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

"Ron, why would you bring up our living together in front of my parents?" I ask as soon as we're through the door to our flat.

"I didn't know it was a banned topic. I thought it was common knowledge," he responds. "Why is it some big secret anyways?"

"You know my parents are very traditional muggles," I answer, irritated. We've reached the bedroom and I remove my jewelry and turn around so that he can unzip my dress for me, which he does without me asking.

"Well, your mum didn't seem to have a problem with it."

"That's because she was trying to keep my father from overreacting. And she happens to like you a lot." I feel the zipper reach the bottom so I step out of the dress and pull on my pajamas—one of Ron's gigantic old T-shirts. I head to the bathroom to brush my teeth as Ron begins unbuttoning his shirt.

"So your dad doesn't like me? Why would he give me permission to ask you to marry me if he doesn't like me?"

"I didn't say that my dad doesn't like you. He wouldn't like any guy I was dating. Especially if the guy I was dating was sleeping with me before we were even married."

"Oh come on, Hermione. That's just typical dad stuff. If that were the case then my dad never would have welcomed Harry into our family so lovingly."

"Are you trying to get me to say my dad hates you?" I ask through a mouthful of toothpaste.

"No, I just want you to tell me why your mom likes me more than your dad likes me."

I spit out the remaining toothpaste and rinse my mouth. I turn to the doorway to see that Ron is standing right in front of me. I sigh and silently admit defeat.

"Let's just say my dad has a longer memory than my mom."

"What does that even mean?"

"He just remembers a lot of times in the past when things between us haven't worked in my favor."

Ron takes a step back out of the bathroom as he tries to understand what I've just said. I take the opportunity to sneak past him and plop down on the edge of the bed. This could be a long conversation that I was hoping to avoid until never.

"'A lot' of times?" He repeats my own words, disbelief clearly written on his face.

"Well, I was very close to my parents growing up, so I wrote to them a lot while we were in Hogwarts. And while we were searching for the Horcruxes, I wrote them letters that I never sent that I gave to them after I returned their memories." Ron just stares at me, still not understanding, so I carry on.

"My letters were usually very mundane: reporting my grades in my classes, how many points I'd won for Gryffindor that week, what new spells or potions I'd learned. At the very beginning, I imagine my letters were quite sad, since I had no friends and I often talked about this red-haired boy who really didn't seem to like me. But after the troll incident, I told them how I had friends, so my letters also included updates on Harry and you. In third year, I told them about or fight over Crookshanks and Scabbers. Then at the end of third year, I realized I had a crush on you, something I told my mum over the summer, which she quickly told my dad." I feel myself blush at the memory. Ron just smiles proudly to himself, knowing that I had a crush on him before he had one on me, as if he won the attractiveness prize; however, I refuse to believe he didn't like me until sixth year like he claims.

"So when I wrote to them upset over you not asking me to the Yule Ball before Krum, asked me, my dad was not very happy with you."

"I was a stupid fourth year! How was I supposed to know I had to ask you to a dance months in advance?!" He splutters in defense of his thirteen year old self.

I hold up my hand and request, "Ron, please let me finish."

"There's more?" He asks with a look of shock. I nod. He sits down on the bed next to me, grabs my hand. I stare down at our entwined fingers and continue:

"He was happy when the Krum thing fizzled out. He was torn over me being with someone older versus my first crush who had hurt my feelings by not asking me to the dance. Then sixth year came along." Ron sighs beside me, knowing what's about to come. He starts fiddling with my fingers to look for a distraction.

"You started dating Lavender and my letters became worrisome to my parents. I sounded distraught and lonely even though Harry was still a good friend. When I went home for Christmas, I told my mum what had been going on and how upset I was. Of course she told my dad and had to almost restrain him to keep him from marching to the Burrow to hunt you down. He never really got over the whole Lavender thing before I had to erase their memories." I pause for a moment as I try to collect my emotions before continuing. Ron gives my hand an encouraging squeeze.

"When I finally tracked them down after the war and gave them their memories back, I also gave them the stack of letters I'd written so that they'd know what I'd been doing all year and why it was so important. The letters had become more of a diary at parts. Especially around the time that you left." I stare down at my lap, recalling the feelings of abandonment and heartbreak and how clearly they were expressed in those letters.

"My father was heartbroken when he read them. He couldn't understand why I wanted to be with someone who in his eyes constantly let me down, but he began to accept it when he saw how happy I was with you. Then there were those three months when I went back to Hogwarts after the war and you stayed behind to help George with the shop and we broke up, which I admit was my fault. So he was happy about that. But over time he saw how happy you make me and he's grown to trust you. He just doesn't want us to go about this the wrong way, which to him means we have to get married before we live together. Otherwise you'll see no need to marry me since you can get all of the perks of marriage without the commitment."

There's an awkward silence once I finish. Suddenly Ron turns to face me and asks, "You don't feel that way, do you?"

"What way?" I ask, feeling the butterflies kick it into high gear, knowing what's coming before my brain can sense it.

"That we're doing this all wrong? That I constantly let you down?"

He looks terrified that I'll say yes; a look that intensifies when I take a second too long to answer. He jumps off of the bed and faces out the window so that he can avoid eye contact.

"Ron, it's not that we're doing this wrong. It's that I'm nervous. I have a long memory, something I got from my dad." I pause to take a breath. "I'm scared you'll leave me again."

After five years, I finally say what I should have said when we first got together. I never forgave him for leaving Harry and me alone in the woods, and every time he leaves after a fight I'm afraid he won't come back. I feel a tear fall down my cheek and into my lap. The bed shifts as Ron comes to sit down next to me again. He pulls me into his arms, but I feel stiff, and I don't melt into him like I usually do.

"Hermione, I will never leave you. I promised you I would never leave you again, and I meant it."

"We'd both been drinking that night," I comment, foggily remembering the night at the Cackling Stump a few weeks ago. "You didn't mean it."

I can hear the anger in his voice when he says, "How can you say I didn't mean it?"

"Ron, we fight a _lot_ and you have a history of storming off without speaking to me for weeks after the fact." I sob into his shoulder, surprised that he hasn't pulled away yet despite my accusations.

"Yeah, we fight a lot, but that's what makes us Ron and Hermione. And when I said I'd never leave you again, I meant it. This," he says, pulling my left hand up to eye level so I can see my engagement ring, "should remind you of that everyday. And when I do leave, I'll always come back. Even Dumbledore knew that," he jokes, summoning the Deluminator from its spot on the bureau.

I take the trinket from him and hold it in my left hand. It clinks against my ring and the vision of the two next to each other is a reminder of the words he just spoke.

"You promise you'll never leave? Even though I'm a frizzy haired know-it-all?" I ask, still unsure.

"Especially because you're a frizzy haired know-it-all. And even though you've said some pretty hurtful things to the ego tonight, I'm still here aren't I?"

"Nothing that wasn't the truth," I tease, but his words finally click into place and I really believe him when I see the ring and Dumbledore's gift in my hand. He laughs and leans down to kiss me then hesitates as if he's not sure if it's what I want, so I meet him halfway. The kiss deepens and I throw the Deluminator to the floor so I can throw myself in the moment whole-heartedly. This kiss feels different than any other we've shared in the past. There's absolute trust now. No second-guessing. There's complete faith that I want to be with him and only him for the rest of my life and that he wants the exact same thing.

I pull away suddenly and proclaim, "Let's get married."

"Well yeah, that's the point of this engagement thing," he says sarcastically.

"No, let's get married _now_." After his confession, I feel the need to start our life together right away.

Ron looks at me horrified before exclaiming, "No!"

"What? Why?" I ask confused and hurt. I push away form him towards the headboard so that I'm leaning on the pillows and he is left alone at the foot of the bed.

"Because your dad apparently hates me enough already. If he wants us to get married, then that's what we'll do. But we'll do it right. With your family there and my family and you in a white dress. Not just us at the Ministry of Magic with you in my old Cannons shirt and me in my boxers. I want to marry you, just not at this exact second."

I sigh in defeat.

"However, there is something I'd like to do in this exact second," he says seductively. Suddenly he is at my end of the bed where he's flung me down so that he is lying on top of me, kissing my neck.

"Okay, but I want to set a date first thing in the morning," I compromise, pulling his face up so that he is at eye level with me.

"Deal," he agrees with a smile before his lips come crushing down on mine, sealing it with a kiss.

* * *

A/N: And there it is! Sorry if this was a little anti-climactic and you were expecting some big Romione epic fight. I just think that those two deserve to be happy and it comes to a point when they shouldn't be kept apart. Plenty more of our favorite Harry Potter couple to come. These two have to get married after all! I've also been sorting out a prequel which I hope to start writing as soon as I finish this story!


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

**Chapter 25**

Ron's Auror duties call him away early the next morning, so we can't set a date for our wedding. I wake up to the sounds of an owl at our bedroom window at 4 AM. It is very persistent on scratching the glass until we wake up. It has a letter from the Ministry that requires Ron to go to Bulgaria immediately to hunt down a rogue Death Eater who killed two muggles overnight. Before I can even ask him not to go, he is gone. The worry that has crept over me keeps me awake, so I pull on my bathrobe and slippers and head into the kitchen to make a pot of tea to calm my nerves.

As I stare out the kitchen window with my cup of tea, I hear a knock on the door and Ginny's voice calls, "Hermione? Are you awake?"

I can hear an edge to her voice that tells me she's just as worried as I am, so I know Harry has been called on the same mission as Ron.

"Coming," I shout back, setting my tea down on the table.

I unlock the door and it bangs open as Ginny storms into the apartment.

"So I'm assuming they summoned my idiot brother as well?" Ginny asks angrily, looking around for any sign of the aforementioned Weasley.

"Well, why else would I be awake at 4:30 in the morning?" I answer with my own question.

"Fair point," she concedes, plopping down on the couch. I join her and summon my tea from the kitchen along with the teapot and an extra cup. The whole set lands on the coffee table and Ginny pours herself a drink. "I hate when they get called away like this. I almost got in a fight with Harry over it before he left."

"I didn't even get a chance to speak with Ron before he was out the door," I grumble.

"Harry was considerate enough to ask if I didn't want him to go. I get that luxury now that I'm his wife," she adds sarcastically. Her mood changes after a beat and she says, "But he had that look on his face—you know his I-need-to-save-the-world look—and I just couldn't ask him to stay."

"They're grown men they can take care of themselves," I point out feebly.

Ginny snorts out a laugh and soon enough I'm laughing, too. We both know Ron and Harry can hardly feed themselves. It's a miracle they were able to survive on their own for so long. They really are lucky that they've moved in with us.

"Well, you can stay here if you want," I offer.

"Thanks, but aren't you in the process of turning my room into a library?" She cringes at the thought of her old room being used as a to house my exhaustive collection of books.

"Yes, but we could have a sort of sleepover until the boys get back. My bed is big enough for two. And we could continue our Buffy marathon."

"Can we start now? I'll get the chocolate." She goes to get off the couch but I stop her.

"Ginny, the sun hasn't even risen yet. Shouldn't we start with breakfast?"

"The moon being out is exactly why it's okay to be eating fudge brownie ice cream. It's technically still nighttime. Besides, we're girls and we're upset. That doubly justifies ice cream at a time like this."

"But all of that sugar," I argue, clearly losing this battle, mostly because I want to lose.

She rolls her eyes and complains, "You are so _obviously_ the daughter of dentists."

* * *

Our Buffy marathon is interrupted only by work and baking. We make it through season four by Saturday night when we go to bed. I feel extremely groggy when I wake up to the dim rays of the rising sun on Sunday morning, as if I were suddenly awoken. I look around and see that Ron is kneeling at the edge of the bed where he's holding my hand.

He kisses the tip of my nose and whispers, "Morning."

"What time is it?" I croak; my throat is dry from the wine we drank last night and general sleepiness.

"6:17, we just got back five minutes ago. Why is my sister in my bed?" He asks confused.

"She doesn't like sleeping without Harry, so I offered to share with her."

He nods and says, "Thanks for keeping her company."

"Oh and who was supposed to keep me company?"

"Ginny of course!" His voice rises in his defense and I throw my finger up to shush him so he won't wake his sister. He throws his hands up in silent defeat, but I pull them back so I can hold them.

"You left so suddenly. We never got to set a date for the wedding."

"December sixth."

"What? It's so far away," I whine.

"I know you love December and its weather and all the joy that it brings, so I always figured we'd get married in December. But I don't want to wait too long, so we have to get married on the first Saturday of the month, which is December sixth."

"It's perfect," I whisper, kissing him softly.

"Now go back to sleep, I'll still be here when you wake up and I'm sure Harry will, too, once he realizes Ginny's not at home. We'll make you breakfast."

I grumble my dissent at him leaving, but he kisses me on the forehead and I can feel myself falling back to sleep almost instantly. I wake up again after what seems like only minutes but realize it's been two hours once I look at the clock. The smell of pancakes and bacon wafts into the room through the partially cracked door and I roll over to see that Ginny has already gotten up. I slip into my slippers and bathrobe and walk down the hall to the kitchen where I see Ginny sitting on Harry's lap eating a pile of bacon and Ron at the stove using his wand to flip pancakes onto an ever-growing stack next to the oven.

"Morning, Sleepyhead!" He says with a smile when I take a seat at the table.

"Technically I was the first one awake," I point out.

"Yes, but you fell back asleep, so you forfeited that title."

I roll my eyes and turn to Harry who has noticeable bags under his eyes. "Have you two gotten any sleep?"

"Not last night. We caught the guy around two this morning and then it took a while to get a portkey back to Azkaban so we could lock him up. Then we had to go to the Ministry to fill out a report since they wanted something to send to the _Prophet_."

"Harry went straight to Grimmauld place after that and I came right here," Ron interjects. "Had people been in their proper beds, we probably would have gotten a few hours of sleep." He ruffles Ginny's hair teasingly as he sets the platter of pancakes on the table and takes a seat next to me. Ginny sticks her tongue out like the mature adult that she is.

"So I'm assuming that everything went well with the capture? No injuries?" I ask, prying for information. I hate not being involved in their missions, especially when they're so sudden.

"He got two more muggles before we could actually track him down. It turns out he was a Metamorphmagus, so whenever we were on his trail, he'd change the way he looked and we'd lose him again," Harry explains

"Caught onto his games eventually though," Ron says triumphantly, giving Harry's arm a jovial punch.

"We ran into Viktor Krum along the way actually," Harry says with a glance at Ron who is clearly frowning as he stuffs some bacon into his mouth. "He asked about you."

I feel myself blush, mostly because I know how protective Ron gets when it comes to Krum. "Oh really? How is he?"

"Good I guess," Harry continues since Ron has clearly lost the ability to speak. "He clearly hasn't been reading the _Prophet_. He had no idea you two are engaged."

"Oh, did you tell him?" I ask nervously, moving my pancakes around in a puddle of syrup.

Harry chuckles and responds, "I think Ron made it quite clear."

Now it's Ron's turn to blush. He regains the ability to speak so that he can defend himself. "The toerag had it coming. Just because he's some legendary Quidditch star, that does not mean he can just move in on you whenever he pleases."

"Calm down, Ron. I made it quite clear to him I wasn't interested in him after fourth year. You don't need to constantly go around marking me as your territory."

"I wasn't 'marking you as my territory'. I was just putting the guy in his place. And that place is as far away from you as humanly possible."

"I think I can decide who can be close to me or not," I argue, getting annoyed with the fact that he thinks he can decide who I talk to.

"Hermione, the guy is an idiot. Why would you even want to talk to him? I was just making your life easier."

"I think I can decide who I want to talk to for myself, Ronald."

"You do a bloody terrible job of it sometimes," he mumbles.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I shriek indignantly.

"Well you decided to talk to Cormac all of those years ago and the wanker won't leave you alone now."

"And I've made it clear to him on multiple occasions to leave me alone. I think I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

"Well, if you could take care of yourself he wouldn't still be bothering you."

"Oh, he's still bothering me? Then how come I haven't seen the guy since Ginny's hen party because he runs the other direction every time he's seen me since that telling off?"

There's a moment where Ron just mumbles incoherently, searching for a response that won't come and then he falls silent.

"Well that escalated quickly," Ginny announces chipperly. Ron and I glare at her and she shrinks back into Harry's chest.

"Er, maybe we should go," Harry suggests awkwardly. Without a word from Ron or me, they get up from the table, Ginny summons her suitcase from my room, and they head to the front door. I go to usher them out and Ginny gives me an apologetic look.

"Don't be too harsh on him," she mutters under her breath. "I don't think my mom wants to lose another son."

I frown at her and mumble, "Thanks for staying with me the last few days."

With a quick hug from both her and Harry, they're gone. I wheel back into the kitchen where Ron is cleaning up after breakfast.

"What the hell was that?" I accuse bitterly, immediately regretting my tone.

"What?" Ron asks exasperatedly.

"The overprotective git that just embarrassed me in front of our friends."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know I wasn't allowed to not like you talking to certain people."

"Ron, not even my father gets to tell me who to talk to. You of all people should know that."

His shoulders slump showing his admitted defeat. "Yeah I know. I just get very…"

"Jealous?" I ask with a grin. It's hard to believe that Ron can possibly be jealous, but he nods grudgingly. I walk up beside him and take his hand reassuringly. "You have nothing to worry about when it comes to other guys. First of all, I've only ever really wanted you. I've only dated other guys because you were too daft to know better or to make you jealous. Clearly that worked. Secondly, I really think you're the only man in the world who is attracted to frizzy haired know-it-alls."

Ron shakes his head and chuckles. Taking my face in his hands he whispers lovingly, "That is where you're wrong. You have absolutely no idea how irresistible you are."

I feel myself blush and cover his hands with mine, trying to hide the offending pink hue that's rising in my cheeks. I still see a tinge of uncertainty on his face, so I say, "Ron, the other night when you said you'd never leave me, you have to know that I will never leave you either."

There's a pause where I let it soak in and then whisper, "I love you." He leans down to kiss me, effectively ending our fight.

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked the chapter! Reviews always welcome! I'm hoping to get the next chapter up within a week. I have a lot of ideas for a prequel and I want to get to writing it, but I can only write one thing at once, so I'm cranking this story out as quickly as possible!


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